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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26254195">Ride and/or Die</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/nunchucksfornico/pseuds/nunchucksfornico'>nunchucksfornico</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>POV: Will and Nico are your serotonin dealers [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians &amp; Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>30024 still counts as more than 30k right? lmao, 30k+, Ad libbed while walking around hollister, And somehow turned out to be a 26.5k monstrosity, Attempt at Humor, Awkward Conversations, Banter, Crash Landing, Denial of Feelings, Developing Relationship, Feelings Realization, Ferris Wheels, Fireworks!!, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff without Plot, Forehead Kisses, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Glowing Will, Happy Meals, Humor, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Intended to be a oneshot, Kisses, Kissing on ferris wheel, Leo comes back immediately after gaea is defeated, M/M, Morning Cuddles, Mutual Pining, Nico is still obsessed with mythomagic, Our quarantine masterpiece, Piper Percy and Leo are a chaotic trio, Plot What Plot, Rollercoasters, Sleepy Cuddles, Sleepy Kisses, Slight Canon Divergence, So many kisses, Soft Boyfriends Nico di Angelo and Will Solace, Teasing, The Grumpy One is Soft For the Sunshine One, The Romans make a cameo towards the end, Theme Park AU, This is not a McDonalds ad I promise, Waterfront hangouts, Where my kdrama fans at, amusement park au, and vice versa, because the authors are gen z, fierrochase cameo, geek Nico, gen z humor, i love that part so much, it takes a while before they become bfs tho, jason is the best wingman, nervous wreck Nico, nervous wreck Will, pure solangelo fluff, shameless flirting, sick bants, solangelo, spinny rides, that's it that's the fic, we love to see it, wrote this instead of sleeping</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 05:21:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>30,046</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26254195</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/nunchucksfornico/pseuds/nunchucksfornico</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Solangelo theme park AU that no one asked for but didn’t know you needed until now! Nico and Will are attacked while on duty and end up in the local theme park together after the meddling of a certain someone. All Nico wants is to shadow travel straight back to camp and end this awkward situation before it even starts, until Will convinces him to stay......and maybe go on some rides, have some sick bants, clumsily confront their feelings and get their act together...unless? Slowburn for a fluff fic, canon compliant up till the end of BoO save for one thing.</p><p>“You know Will, actually… that reminds me - the other day I saw this huge McDonald’s billboard for french fries and it immediately made me think of you.”</p><p>“Huh...why? Lemme guess, is it because I’m salty?”</p><p>“Well, obviously. But also… because right next to the massive picture of the fries was the caption. And do you know what it said? Tall, blond and gorgeous. Just… just like you, sunshine.”</p><p>‘anyways i would die for nico di angelo’s emo ass and his dumbass doctor boyfriend’<br/>(APA 6th ed: Antisocial Slytherin Penguin (2020, July 3).anyways i would die for nico di angelo’s emo ass and… [Tumblr post].)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nico di Angelo/Will Solace</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>POV: Will and Nico are your serotonin dealers [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907341</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>89</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Crash landing on Will (Nico)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nico detangled himself from a bunch of tacky whackamole prizes and glowered at the sky. The sticky asphalt ground stuck to his shoes as he climbed out of the crate of plushies and crouched down into a defensive position, sword at the ready, preparing for the next unavoidable aerial attack. How in Hades was he supposed to fight an enemy that was intangible most of the time? Just as he was about to give it another futile attempt, mentally preparing himself to be tossed around in the wind like a runaway plastic bag, a powerful current swept in out of nowhere, reducing the previously attacking <em>venti</em> to literal hot air. Their hazy silhouettes dissipated into the distance like chimney smoke.</p><p> <em>What just happened? </em>His eyes squinted in confusion, until he saw the infuriatingly heroic figure of Jason Grace swooping in from above like a blond Superman. Standing alone in the wreckage of toys, Nico was almost annoyed at being saved. What was Jason up to now?</p><p>“Heyyyy would ya look at that, the <em>venti</em> miraculously happened to stop attacking just as you guys reached the theme park! How convenient. Tough luck, guess you’ll have to find your way back yourselves.  Come on Dylan II, let’s go… oh, and enjoy your, um... DATE!!!” he yelled, his wild grin visible on his face as he flew off into the afternoon sun as fast as he could. A wise tactic, because Nico was considering throwing his sword like a javelin at him for leaving him in this position. </p><p>Before he could cuss him out properly though, he realized that a couple of stray <em>venti </em>were still hovering around the area, thanks to Jason and his apparent inability to pick up where he left off. Thinking he had saved the day and then zooming off like that—the <em>audacity</em>. Nico sighed in resignation, attempting to detach the soles of his checkered high top Vans from the gooey patch he was standing on. Was it melted ice cream that was stuck there, or was it something worse? He didn’t want to find out.</p><p>He looked back up to the sky only to see one of the <em>venti</em> barrelling towards him at full speed like a bald eagle diving towards a helpless mouse. The wind spirit was drawing a little too close for comfort. Nico muttered out a curse under his breath. Just as he was about to swing his sword in a last-second attempt to deflect it and prepare for his imminent doom, a sudden flash of gold struck the dark wispy mass of the spirit, causing it to disintegrate into a massive cloud of silvery dust.</p><p>
  <em>Huh? Why does this keep happening? </em>
</p><p>Nico could just barely make out a dark humanoid shape and a glinting curve of gold against the blazing sun. Amidst the shimmering haze of the dispersing dust, he saw the person doing something like nocking an arrow to a bow - <em>oh so that gold thing was an arrow -</em> and aiming it at the remaining <em>venti</em>. Nico stared in bewilderment as the archer’s arm seemed to pull back for another release only a second too late. The arrow narrowly missed its target. </p><p><em>Wait a second. Archer? </em>  Somehow, this person seemed familiar. Hadn’t he been on duty with another camper before he got swept up into the sky? Nico’s brow furrowed as he willed his befuddled brain to give him more details. Yikes - that drop to the ground had left more of a lasting impact than he thought.</p><p>The storm spirit took this opportunity to lunge forward, delivering what looked like a painful blow. The force of the assault must’ve punted the archer out of whatever air pouch they were on (probably courtesy of Jason again), as they were now free-falling through the sky at an alarming velocity. Worse still, they seemed to be falling <em>straight in his direction</em>. <em>Oh sh----</em></p><p>Nico could only wish he had speedier reflexes before the dark shape blotted out his vision and Will Solace, son of Apollo and all-round significant annoyance, fell directly on top of him. </p><p>The wind was knocked out clean of his lungs. “Ouch,” Nico grumbled as he attempted to sit up. “Next time try finding your own spot to land.” He imagined this must’ve been what the dinosaurs felt like when the Earth was struck by meteors. It was surprising that he hadn’t been flattened into a demigod pancake.</p><p>“Sorry,” Will said, his eyes sparkling, “but I’d like to see you try when you’re being chased by fifty wind spirits, death boy.” He raised his eyebrows. “Now what did Jason say about the <em>venti</em> again? He said he’d keep me afloat in the air while I was shooting them, but after I shot at the last one I was too busy free-falling and freaking out to notice -” </p><p>Before Will could finish his sentence, the <em>ventus</em> made a reappearance right above them, clearly eager to finish off its targets. Will was about to notch another arrow when Nico decided that he should return Will’s favour of saving him… or whatever. As the <em>ventus</em> rapidly descended, he desperately propped himself up and made a bold swing with his sword just before the spirit collided with them, praying that it was enough to destroy it. His eyes widened in shock when the blade swiped cleanly across the murky mist and absorbed the <em>ventus</em>. (Can <em>venti </em>even be absorbed? Nico decided that <em>that</em> was a question for another day as his brain was clearly not functioning at full capacity at the moment). Just like that, the storm spirit was no more. </p><p>Tension dispelled from his body like the dust cloud settling around them. Slightly overwhelmed by the turn of events, Nico let out a heavy breath as he flopped back against Will’s side.</p><p>“I swear to the gods… I’m going to kill Jason when we get back to camp,” he muttered. “Of course, they <em>MiRaCuLoUsLy</em> disappeared soon as we got here. How <em>cOnVeNiEnT</em>,” he continued, making air quotations with his fingers as he emphasized those words. Pretty miraculous indeed when not even all of the <em>venti </em>had vanished like Jason had claimed that they had. It was more than obvious from Jason’s parting words that this was a stupid matchmaking stunt. Stupid Jason and his stupid plans. And the fact that he’d just been set up on some weird monster fighting/guard duty/theme park date - Nico mentally smacked himself in the head. Gods, when Will crash landed on him he had probably hit his head AGAIN, because his brain was currently a mushy jumbled mess on the verge of short-circuiting. He couldn’t believe that he hadn’t recognized Will a few moments ago. He thought about him so much, he reckoned that his features would’ve been seared into his consciousness by now.</p><p>“Well, guess they’re gone now. About damn time,” Will mumbled, a little too late. Nico supposed that the fact that Jason was now gone as well, leaving only the two of them lying like a pair of idiots on the scorching asphalt, surrounded by squashed panda plushies, had finally made its way up to his head. His heartbeat accelerated. Will had a slightly dazed expression on his face, and his eyebrows were furrowed in confusion.  </p><p>“Will you tell me what in Hades possessed you to fall RIGHT ON TOP OF ME?”</p><p>Will turned sideways to face him, and the kind light in his eyes slightly calmed his immense annoyance at Jason. It did nothing to calm his heart though, which had somehow sped up even more. It was a wonder that he hadn’t collapsed from a heart attack yet. </p><p>“Heh, I dunno. Ask the <em>venti</em>, maybe.” Will let out a breathless giggle, his words still a little hard to make out, probably from the adrenaline. Or maybe he had a concussion. Nico wouldn’t be surprised if both of them did, because how could he not have recognized that the figure fighting the <em>venti</em> earlier after Jason’s departure was <em>Will freakin’ Solace? </em></p><p>Nico could feel himself getting flustered at the mere <em>sight</em> of the blond boy who was lying right next to him and so he resorted to his default when dealing with unwanted emotions - sarcasm. “I would, but it seems like Jason’s made them his new squad and I am NOT interacting with that.” Their faces were so close together that if he only leaned forwards ever so slightly he could close the distance between them - <em>whoa there,</em> <em>stop it, what has gotten into you? Get a grip!</em>  Will giggled again, the sound ringing clear and high into the summer sky. Nico’s heart filled with more unwanted emotions. Disgusting.</p><p>Will turned away, and they lay there catching their breath for a minute or so as Nico tried his best to ignore the pointed stares from the visitors walking around the area and the mop of blond hair next to him. It was only when he caved and finally snuck a glance at Will that he noticed the long cut still oozing blood on the side of his forehead. His eyes widened: it must have come from when Will defended him as he was falling towards the crate full of toys so he wouldn’t break any bones when he landed.</p><p>“Hey, Solace, you’ve got a … you’ve got a pretty nasty cut on your forehead.” Nico stuttered, shaking the blond’s shoulder. Now he was feeling a little guilty from having been so frustrated at Will’s sudden appearance, and even more so when he realized that Will had gotten hurt because of him.</p><p>Will raised a hand to his fringe that was matted with drying blood, wincing lightly when his fingers brushed across the wound. “Damn,” Will let out an exasperated sigh. It seemed like he was gradually coming back to his senses, as his doctor’s instinct kicked in. “It’s okay. It’s not too bad, a bit of ambrosia should patch this right up. But you, Nico, are you… are you alright? Do you need some ambrosia? Nico?” His grimace vanished as a concerned look took over his face. </p><p> Though Will was the one injured, Nico noticed how he worried about him first. Staring into his bright blue eyes, he recalled how Will had taken his hand in his during Gaea’s attack on Camp Half Blood right after he had delivered a baby, then worked with him to disable the onagers. A blush crept across his cheeks.</p><p>A voice snapped him out of his daydream. “Nico?” Will repeated, this time with a hint of amusement in his voice. He quickly looked away. “I-I’m fine.” he stammered. “But your forehead… though.” He stupidly repeated. <em>What was he even saying?</em> His brain was taking an awfully long time to revert back to normal today.</p><p> He stumbled to his feet and offered Will a hand, who accepted and rose gracefully. Electricity shot down his spine as their hands touched.<em> Schist, not this again</em>, he thought. Why did being with him always have to make him feel like he was in some sort of dreamy, romantic haze? Was he just <em>that</em> desperate for a friend?</p><p>With his hand still held in Will’s, the absurdity of the situation struck him. He had a massive crush on Will Solace, and there was nothing he could do about it, no idea how to deal with it, <em>and</em> was stuck in a theme park with him for who knows how long. How many million ways could this go wrong? Alright. <em>Wow. </em>He needed to pull himself together. <em>Be cool. Be nonchalant, like… like two bros spending some quality bro time together. </em></p><p>He finally let go of Will’s hand and struggled to find something suitably relatable to say. “Eh, just our luck that we get our first attack in months while we’re on guard duty.” </p><p>Will shrugged. “It really could have been worse. See, now we have free entry to the local theme park! Think positive, sunshine!” Nico could almost hear the :D :D emojis in his voice. </p><p>He was skeptical, though. “But Will, we should get back to camp. Who knows how many more <em>venti</em> there are? I don’t want to risk them attacking the other campers. If they called for reinforcements or something, how would we explain that?”</p><p>Yep, maybe that would be for the best. Him and Will would get a ride or shadow travel back, prevent a potential monster attack, then go their separate ways; he wouldn’t have any further chances to stay here and be awkward and mess up their... friendship? Close acquaintanceship? Whatever <em>it</em> was, he didn’t want it to end because of him. One day, maybe after he’d gotten over his feelings, they could look back on this day and laugh. And once he’d figured out how to do that, they could possibly come again...on purpose, instead of being blown here embarrassingly far from camp as they were fighting a losing battle? </p><p>Will pursed his lips as he mulled it over. <em>Cuuuuute, </em>Nico couldn’t help but think. <em>Ah schist,</em> came the thought immediately after. “Fair point, but I think Jason’s got this,” he finally replied. “He’s the only one who’s had much luck fighting them anyway, let alone control them, and he’s on the next shift after ours ends in--”he glanced down and checked his watch - “approximately 30 seconds. In a different situation I might do otherwise, but in this case I’d say it’s fine to hang out here - if you wouldn’t mind staying with me for a while?”</p><p> 	A cool breeze rustled around them, carrying over an enticing smell of popcorn and candyfloss. What Will said had made sense. How long had it been since he had been to a theme park? Nico wondered. Perhaps about 70 years, counting his time in the Lotus Hotel. He took in the colourful rides, the perfect weather, the distant sounds of people having fun; hey, it might actually be kind of nice to spend some time here, experience all this with Will, if he ignored all the ways it could go awry…… </p><p>          Nico finally looked back at him, seeing a reflection of the sky mirrored in his cerulean eyes. </p><p>          “I suppose… I suppose we could. Only after you get that wound healed up, though.”</p><p>          “Ah YESS!! Nico, you’re the best.”</p><p>Nico was a little taken aback at how giddy Will was at the prospect of spending the rest of the day with <em>him</em>. Most campers seemed wary of spending time with him, let alone <em>asking</em> him to accompany them to do something fun. Fun wasn’t something people usually associated with him. It made a strange warmth bloom in his chest. </p><p>He handed Will a square of ambrosia from his pocket. “Ooh look at you, who’s the doctor now, huh death boy?” Will teased cheerily, raising his eyebrows and popping the square into his mouth. The effects of the godly food were immediately noticeable: the gash on Will’s face began to close up as soon as he had swallowed it. “Shut up Solace,” Nico muttered automatically, quickly swallowing his own square and casting his eyes towards the mysteriously sticky ground, his face turning red again. Hopefully, the ambrosia would give him some much-needed common sense.</p><p>Nico prayed that the Mist would be enough hide their weapons from mortal sight as he imagined seeing himself and Will from a mortal’s perspective: a dark-haired emo teen with a black, heavy sword that seemed to be too big for him and a blond teenager who looked like a surfer with a quiver and a bow slung across his back. He didn’t want to deal with questions from confused and concerned mortals about their weapons. Sure, they would not be harmed by Will’s arrows since they were made of Imperial Gold, but unfortunately that was not the case with his sword. Stygian iron could harm both mortals and mythological beings. </p><p>He could always say that the weapons were fake and that they brought them for a costume party that they would be attending after spending the day at the theme park, and they would be able to get away with the lie with the arrows; on the other hand, it wouldn’t take long for people to realize that his sword was, in fact, very real. How could he possibly explain to them that they were children of Greek gods who were fighting off Greek monsters in a way that would not get him arrested or sent to the closest mental hospital? Besides, it would be stupid and dangerous to let the mortals know about the existence of the Greek pantheon. The Mist existed for a reason.</p><p>Will’s voice interrupted his train of thought.</p><p> “Sooo do you wanna grab something to eat or go on a ride first?” he inquired, grinning widely. Nico’s stomach embarrassingly grumbled in response.</p><p>The blond smirked at him. “Food it is, then.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The amount of grinning I do when I read the crash landing line &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;<br/>Because of course he has to land on top of him. It is the law.</p><p>Anyway this is our first fic, I hope y'all enjoy it as much as we enjoyed writing it, because let's face it, we're all solangelo trash. We saw the lack of theme park AUs and decided we had to write what we wanted to read. Be the change you want to see in the world, amirite? (I might as well change my degree to a Bachelor's in Projection and get a PhD in solangelo. Smh)</p><p>Kudos and comments would be greatly appreciated, we will probably talk about those for years to come ngl</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Happy Meals and Mythomagic are the love of my life, Will Solace WHOMSTDVE, I don’t know him - stop saying I’m in denial!!! (Nico)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Awww,” Will remarked after he finally concluded his infodump, picking at the last few fries on their trays. “Love sure seems to be a powerful force both in the game and in real life.” </p><p>“Oh, yeah,” Nico replied distastefully as his encounter with Cupid came to mind.<br/>“Trust me, I would know.”</p><p>Will immediately jumped at the bait. “You would know, huh? Is there a special someone you’re thinking about, sunshine?” Will waggled his eyebrows and stuck his face alarmingly close to Nico’s, beaming brightly.</p><p>Holy Hades, why did he have to say that?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A few McMoments later they were settled in a Mcbooth in McDonald's, cramming unhealthy Mcfood into their mouths. Having sated his hunger, Nico let himself relax: it felt good to have a moment of serenity after fighting a bunch of monsters. Happy Meals had that effect on him. It definitely had nothing to do with the golden-haired boy sitting opposite him. Definitely not.</p><p>Will munched on a fry contentedly, staring into space. He looked so calm and carefree, at peace in a way Nico wished he could achieve. His windswept blond hair framed his tan complexion — how did he manage to pull off a skier’s tan? </p><p>“...Don’t think I don’t see you stealing my fries, di Angelo,” Will warned, pulling Nico out of his reverie. “Next time if you want fries, you better order your own ones instead of getting a Happy Meal every single time!”</p><p>“Hmph.” Nico flicked a piece of corn at him in response.</p><p>“Dude, that’s so unhygienic! Also, that’s rich coming from somebody who’d been turned into a corn plant before.” </p><p>Nico glared at him as he chewed on another fry. Will met his gaze, grinning back infuriatingly, as if daring him to reply. How insulting. Why did he have to be so hard to be mad at? Not that he really had a right to be mad at him since he was the one stealing his fries after all. Another realization struck him. “Wait, how do you know I order a Happy Meal every single time?”</p><p>Will was about to answer when Nico spotted a familiar shape from the corner of his eye and gasped. “Holy Hades, that's Aphrodite’s Mythomagic figure! She has 9000 attack points, super high HP and that, like, legendary attack that allows you to switch her with your other active gods, and... and move any number of Health Points from the other gods to her…” </p><p>He trailed off as Will raised his eyebrows at him, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Go on,” he encouraged, leaning back and his chair and trying hard not to laugh, “you’re the expert. And it’s cute when you nerd out about things.” He gave Nico a wink before picking up another fry and popping it into his mouth.</p><p>“Oh shut up Solace,” Nico grumbled as he averted his gaze from him, his face flushing McDonald’s red. He seemed to be doing that a lot these days. Ugh, crushes were so distracting. Damn the summer heat. Yeah, it was definitely because of that. Definitely <em>not </em>due toa certain son of Apollo.</p><p>Why did Will have to be that way? The constant taunting was maddening, yet so ……. annoyingly charming? Nonetheless, Nico hadn’t realized how much he’d missed the small intimacies of casual conversation. In his life as a demigod, chances to have some downtime with his friends were few and far between, and it was nice to finally be comfortable enough with someone to banter with them freely.  And he knew Will would never make fun of his interests, no matter how juvenile they were. That was one of the reasons why he liked him so much. Only as a friend though. <em>Sure</em>, his brain unhelpfully commented, <em>you only like him as a friend. And not as a crush. Keep telling yourself that, Nico.</em> <em>Because denial is definitely the right way to go. The best approach, hands down. </em>He willed his brain to shut up.</p><p> “Well,” he began shyly. “if you really want to know…… Aphrodite has amazing offence, equally good defense and is one of the only cards to have Love Spell as its legendary attack……” He blurbled on, trying his very best (and miserably failing) not to be distracted by the affectionate smile that hung on Will’s face. <em>How in Hades does he manage to look so… captivating when he had literally just fallen out of the sky? </em>He attempted to direct all of his attention back onto explaining the game, which was becoming increasingly difficult with every passing second since he was looking directly at said cause of distraction.  </p><p>“Awww,” Will remarked after he finally concluded his infodump, picking at the last few fries on their trays. “Love sure seems to be a powerful force both in the game and in real life.” </p><p>“Oh, yeah,” Nico replied distastefully as his encounter with Cupid came to mind. He then thought of his crush on Will, which seemed to be slowly turning his brain cells to skeletal butterflies. The words escaped his mouth before he was aware of them tumbling out, “Trust me, I would know.”</p><p>Will immediately jumped at the bait. “You would know, huh? Is there a special someone you’re thinking about, sunshine?” Will waggled his eyebrows and stuck his face alarmingly close to Nico’s,  beaming brightly.</p><p><em>Holy Hades, why did he have to say that</em>?</p><p><em>None of your business</em>, he wanted to reply, but the words were stuck in his throat. For some reason, the idea of being mean, or saying something even remotely hurtful to Will didn’t sit right with him. </p><p>“Uhh, kind of.” He couldn’t stop himself from saying, “Yeah.”</p><p>“That person must be pretty incredible to have caught your fancy,” Will remarked, glancing at him with renewed interest.</p><p>“Well, umm, yeah. It’s just — it’s just the way they brush their hair away from their forehead, the warmth of their smile, the kindness in their eyes, or how they’re always humming under their breath… how they always somehow manage to appear so naturally charming yet so perfectly put-together at the same time that it's honestly annoying. And um, how they unfailingly try to help everyone they can... like, like they can’t ever imagine not doing so, and how they're so caring and empathetic, even to people who don't deserve it. They’re so modest about it as well, as if they don’t realize how great they are. That’s…...that’s what I like most about them.” He stuttered, averting his eyes and nervously twisting his skull ring. Crap, had he accidentally revealed too much? Did his word vomit scare him off? <em>Well done Nico, you might have finally blown your chances with him this time. What were you thinking?</em></p><p>To his surprise, Will didn’t seem to notice the glaringly obvious similarities between that description and himself. “They sure do sound like a great person,” he replied, seeming a little lost in thought. A look of disappointment flashed across his face, but it disappeared so quickly that Nico was certain he’d imagined it.</p><p>He didn’t know how to respond. Was he really going to spontaneously confess that all those sappy things that he had just blabbered were in fact about Will, over a Happy meal? No, that wouldn’t work, and would certainly not end well or make him happy. The hopeless romantic in him thought he could do better. <em>Knew</em> he could do better. So he decided to change the subject instead before the awkwardness of the situation could escalate.  </p><p>“Uhhh, I’m gonna go get some ice cream.” he blurted, somewhat randomly. “You want one?” </p><p>Will looked confused for a moment, but then he gave Nico a little half-smile. “Sure, why not?” </p><p>“Wow, you really are in a good mood today. I thought you were going to lecture me on the health benefits of a balanced diet and how ice cream is loaded with sugar, fat, and all that jazz. You know, <em>doctor’s orders</em> and all.”</p><p>Will shrugged. His gaze still seemed a little distant. “Guess not, death boy. Maybe we both deserve a treat after the attack. Surely getting tossed around in the wind helps you burn a lot of calories.” </p><p>======================</p><p>A little while later, they returned to their table with an Oreo McFlurry and a vanilla sundae. The ice cream seemed to have appeased Will considerably, as that good-natured smile was back on his face again. As Nico savoured his McFlurry, gazing quietly out of the window, some not-so-happy thoughts made their way into his head, and he couldn’t help but wonder how long it had been since he last enjoyed a moment of peace. Honestly, when was the last time he could afford to sit down and have a nice meal in the outside world?</p><p> As he got lost in his train of thoughts, another troubling one that had been incessantly irking him since the end of the Second Great Prophecy stirred at the back of his mind, refusing to be neglected until it was addressed - like a child nagging their parent to buy them what they wanted at a candy store.</p><p>“Will?”</p><p>“Mmhm?”</p><p>“Can I ask you a question?”</p><p>“Of course, fire away, sunshine.”</p><p>“Why were you so nice to me? During the war and afterwards? Even when I never gave you a reason to care, even when I ignored everyone at camp and ran away. Why did you want to be my friend?”</p><p>Will answered in a heartbeat. “Well, you’re nice. You don’t hesitate to offer your help whenever and wherever it is needed, and even though you're quiet most of the time, I can tell you have a kind soul. And I… and I enjoy talking to you. You’re also really cool, I guess…” his voice faltered, casting his eyes down to his hands as he fiddled with his wristbands, and Nico could swear he detected a splash of colour slowly making its way across his cheeks, making his freckles stand out against his tanned skin. </p><p>Even in his confusion, Nico thought he looked cute. <em>Really </em>cute. The skeletal butterflies that were resurrected during his encounter with Will in the war came back, fluttering in his stomach and refusing to settle. Needless to say, he hadn’t felt like this in a long time - not since he got over his crush on Percy.</p><p>“But… <em>why?</em> Why did you want me to stay in the infirmary after the war?” Nico pressed childishly.</p><p>Will nibbled at the cone of his ice cream. “First off, you looked like actual death, and I could always use a friendly face… and believe it or not, a lot of people actually <em>like</em> your company…...” he murmured under his breath.</p><p>Nico couldn’t believe his ears. There was no way he really meant that. “Okay, friendly reminder: I’m the son of Hades, so of course I look like death. I’m <em>supposed </em>to look like death. But also, the fact that you would associate the word ‘friendly’ with my face is honestly... baffling. Why on earth would you choose to hang out with <em>me</em>, when I have done nothing remotely friendly or particularly <em>nice</em> and have been running away from camp for years, out of all people, is genuinely beyond me.”</p><p>“Oh my gods Nico, cut out the edgelord crap…... you are so…... <em>so</em> <em>unbelievably</em> <em>dense </em>sometimes that it’s actually pretty cute.”</p><p>Nico choked on his ice cream. “W-What?”, he sputtered, in between coughs. He couldn’t deny the effects that Will’s words had on him. Maybe his perception of the impression he gave to the other campers was a bit...off. Trying to compose himself, he did his best to give Will a death glare, which was challenging considering the fact that his heart was doing somersaults in his chest. “I am <em>not</em> cute. I can summon skeleton armies, shadow travel the Athena Parthenos along with two other people halfway across the world, command legions of ghosts and --”</p><p>“Sorry. My bad. You’re not cute. You’re adorable,” Will cut him off, winking at him once again, then stood up and brushed any leftover burger crumbs off his shirt. “Come on, let’s get going. I’m not gonna be happy if we miss the rides before the park closes because you were too busy gaping at me,” he teased, trying to suppress his laughter as he took in Nico’s astonished expression, before making his way towards the exit. </p><p><em>Oh my gods.</em> Why was Will suddenly spouting all this positive stuff about him? And why was he slowly, very slowly starting to believe him? Still in shock, Nico stared at him, open-mouthed. “Y-yep. Co-coming,” was all he managed to say before he pushed his chair back and hurriedly followed Will out of the booth.</p><p>Nico was almost blinded by the afternoon sun as he pushed open the doors leading outside. <em>Schist,</em> he had forgotten how bright it was. Why didn’t theme parks provide more shade? He put his hand in front of his face instinctively and turned away, peering out towards the centre of the park. </p><p>His eyes lit up as he caught sight of the large, bright roller coasters rising in the distance. Since he’d been a kid in the 1930s, he’d been enthralled by them but had never had the chance to go on one before. Drawn by the spectacular structures, his feet moved at their own accord as he half sprinted towards the rides. He sped off towards the most intimidating, most intense looking one, heart beating fast as an expectant smile spread across his face. Maybe this outing wouldn’t be so bad after all.</p><p>He didn’t notice that Will’s face was slowly turning as pale as his vanilla cone, or that he was calling his name and telling him to slow down.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>AY YO, MUTUAL PINING CHECKKK (or should I say, mutual punning? ;))</p><p>As someone who has worked at McDonald's, it is my duty and honour to make as many McPuns as possible *finger guns* ( ✌︎'ω')✌︎  </p><p>Support a fast food worker by purchasing a Happy Meal with the object of your affections right now (but we do not stan billion dollar companies though sksksksksksk) We are not 13 we promise we just have gen z humour and we have been regressing and stuck in our 14 year selves for the past four months</p><p>As always, comments and kudos are highly appreciated, so leave your thoughts in the comments below! Constructive criticism is welcomed :) We will talk about this over lunch tomorrow lmao<br/>No flames pls xoxoxo &gt;: (  </p><p>Guys if it wasn't clear enough this is a joke do whatever you want - after all we are professional clowns<br/>P.S. Support the clown industry too while you're at it</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Roller coasters failed the vibe check , 10/10 would not recommend (Will)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"You… your hands are really wa...warm." He stupidly blabbered.</p><p>This time, Will couldn't kid himself that the sunlight was obscuring his vision, because such a brilliant shade of red crept across the other boy's pale cheeks that he couldn't possibly have imagined it. "Oh, really? Guess I should take that as a compliment from one of Apollo's kids, huh?" Nico gave a nervous chuckle. </p><p>"Yeah. Who would've thought, death boy?" Will laughed. By this time all the previous feelings of fear and dread had vanished without a trace, replaced by a warmth in his chest that expanded by the second. </p><p> Nico regarded him closely once more, brows slightly furrowed, as if searching for a sign that he wasn't as okay as he claimed he was. "You're cracking jokes at me again," he tentatively pointed out. "Does that mean you're back to normal now, sunshine?" </p><p>TL;DR: Will is scared of roller coasters, Nico comforts him and handholding shenanigans ensue. Our favourite Norse the-grumpy-one-is-soft-for-the-sunshine-one (BASS BOOSTED) couple make a cameo.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning: Will freaks out on the roller coaster, not quite a panic attack but yeah just a heads up</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Slurping off a large glob of his rapidly dripping ice cream cone, Will convinced himself to forget about the astronomical amounts of sugar and fat he was consuming and to just enjoy the treat. His mind was more occupied by other... things. First was the fact that he had just unashamedly called Nico cute <em>twice</em>, and instead of sucker punching him in the face, the other boy had stared at him with the most adorable, mouth-gaping look on his face. To be honest, he was a little surprised at how quickly Nico had dropped from his usual snarky demeanor to a shyer, softer side reminiscent of his younger self. The fact that Nico was comfortable opening up to him made his heart grow warm: as much as he joked and teased him about it, he trusted Will with things as adorably geeky as his Mythomagic trivia, and as touchy as his clearly deep-rooted insecurities. </p><p>His sappy side suddenly conjured up thoughts of wrapping the boy up in fluffy blankets and reassuring him that he was wonderful as he was for as long as it took to convince him. <em>You're so whipped for this boy, </em>his inner voice snickered at him. <em>Shut up, </em>he yelled back in his mind. </p><p>But somehow in the middle of their banter… the topic of <em>Nico having a crush on someone else </em>came up, like a boulder crashing down from the sky. Kind of like him falling out of the air and crash landing right on top of Nico, actually.</p><p><em>Nico has a crush</em>. For some reason the thought almost physically pained him. All of a sudden his skin felt too warm and too tingly, as if the rays of sun were mercilessly prickling his arms and legs. And the fact that Nico made them out to be such an inexplicably delightful person… While Will thought of himself as a pretty decent guy, he couldn't possibly match up to Nico's description. Kind and empathetic and always wanting to help? Will supposed he was kind of like that, but then so were most of his siblings in the Apollo cabin - that healer's instinct just ran in their blood. Charming and cute? Enough to make <em>Nico di Angelo's </em>heart flutter just by the way they brushed hair away from their forehead? With how closed off Nico usually was around most of the other campers, Will would bet that only an Aphrodite kid could have that kind of power over him. They were notoriously charismatic, after all. Will was anything but that.</p><p>The ice cream in his hand continued dripping down onto the asphalt, leaving little white splotches around his feet. His head hurt with the millions of possibilities that single revelation conjured up, although he didn't dare entertain the very slim chance that he was the object of Nico's affections. While Will tried to tell himself that he would still be happy for his friend should he end up with somebody else, the notion that he might have missed a shot with him made him want to punch through several glass windows. <em>Why was he so concerned about Nico's feelings for another person all of a sudden?</em>  He frowned. The thought kindled something long buried in Will's heart, something he wasn't sure he was ready to face yet. </p><p>As he shook himself back to reality, he remembered with a jolt that he had a much more pressing issue to deal with. He had totally forgotten that Nico was now marching eagerly towards the roller coasters, and seemed to have set his sights on the most terrifying out of the bunch - the Death Spiral. He paled at the sight of that horrific structure that loomed over the park like a mechanical Apophis, his stomach giving an unpleasant lurch as if to warn him of what was to come.</p><p>"You know what… my stomach isn't really feeling all that good right now. I don’t think… I think it's not the best idea to go for something so intense after we've just eaten…" Will stammered under his breath. </p><p>Nico was too far ahead to hear his shaky pleas. Will tried raising his voice. “Nico? Nico, can you slow down for a bit? NICO!!! HEY, DEATH BOY!!!”</p><p>No response. Oh, gods.</p><p>He lowkey knew (never mind, he <em>highkey </em>knew) that there was no stopping the death-trap-addicted boy who had clearly set his mind on boarding the Death Spiral (why on earth would anyone voluntarily go on anything called a <em>Death Spiral?!</em>). Will had never really been a fan of death traps (even non-lethal ones). Curse him and his damn fear of thrill rides - with the menacing swoops and dips of the tracks and the shrill screeches that pierced his ears every so often, he simply didn’t find anything enjoyable about the whole experience. </p><p>A wild thought that he was going to plummet to death on the ride flashed across his brain, and his burger threatened to make a reappearance. He wasn’t really in the mood to die the day before his 16th birthday, and even if he was he’d rather die a tragic heroic death as part of a prophecy instead of on a dam roller coaster. Ironic, considering that he was a war survivor and technically should know that roller coasters did not kill people. Not that often, at least. Will tried to banish these stray, irrational thoughts to the back of his mind. </p><p>He glanced back at Nico, who was still oblivious to his panicking and gazing at said death trap like his favourite mythomagic figure had come to life. He hadn't seen that kind of sparkle in Nico's eyes for a little while, if ever. Despite the overwhelming fear and paranoia pooling at the pit of his stomach, his stomach did a funny little swoop. He studied at Nico's starstruck expression for a little longer, before being pulled back to reality by the fact that Nico was probably about to drag him into the ride in his fervor.</p><p>Will contemplated his options. He could either be a complete jerk and ruin Nico's well-deserved break, all because he was too scared of roller coasters of all things. Or he could (attempt to) suck it up, act brave for 5 minutes, and Nico would finally get to go on the ride of his dreams. And honestly, Will couldn't bear being a jerk. Not even to Nico, edgelord extraordinaire, Lord of Darkness, who wouldn't hesitate to grumble and glare and return his teases with brutal honesty. </p><p>No, especially not Nico, who has already seen too much, been through way too much, even for a demigod. Nico, who lost his sister at ten, fought in two wars and went through Tartarus, alone. His heart ached at the thought of Nico suffering in silence, and not having anyone to lean on for support or reassurance.</p><p>An unusually enthusiastic voice interrupted his thoughts. "COME ON, SOLACE! YA COMING OR NOT?"</p><p> Nico spun over to face Will, his grin nearly splitting his face in half. His eyes were as sparkly as ever. Will may be a son of Apollo, but at that moment Nico was sunshine in human form. <em>Ah </em>- his stomach did that funny little swoop again, making his decision for him. He tried his best to choke down the rest of his ice cream as well as his feelings of dread, and returned Nico’s bright smile. "YOU BET, DI ANGELO!"</p><p>Fueled by the sudden rush of warmth in his body, Will managed to keep up his bravado as they joined to queue for the ride. Nico was vibrating in excitement at a frequency that could probably shatter glass. </p><p>But the further the pair moved down the line, the more Will's repressed fear bubbled to the surface. He caught a glimpse of the most recent bunch of passengers stumbling off the ride from around the corner, some laughing, some out of breath, some looking like they had literally come back from Tartarus. (He'd consider Nico to be more of an expert on that aspect though). He saw some Kurt Cobain lookalike retching into a flower pot while his green-haired companion patted him on the back from three feet away, laughing as he (or she? Will wasn’t sure) filmed him in all his distressing glory. </p><p>“Free fertiliser, way to go Maggie!”</p><p> “Shut up Alex... it’s a... it’s a fake plant.....” the poor guy croaked, then groaned as he threw up again.</p><p>Yikes, at this rate his fries were definitely going to make a reappearance. He felt his mind go numb with fear a fraction more with each step they moved towards the boarding area.</p><p>"Hey, Solace?"</p><p>"Solace!"</p><p>"Hey! Are you good, Will? You look like your soul got sucked out of your body, dude. And I would know what that looks like. Um, that was dark, I hope I didn’t spoil the mood..."</p><p>At the call of his name, Will snapped back to face Nico, whose expression softened when their eyes met. He didn't notice that Nico had stopped bouncing on the balls of his feet and craning desperately to see how far along they were. He hadn't even noticed he had been unconsciously clenching his fists and staring into nothing like a goat. </p><p>"Sorry… yeah, I think I'm good. Just kinda nervous, that's all." A hint of uncertainty flickered across Nico's eyes, but he nodded nonetheless. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards, in an attempt to offer what (maybe?) would have been a reassuring smile. </p><p>"It'll be fine, we've been through way worse." Nico jokingly elbowed Will in the ribs, his smile stretching a little wider. Will managed to muster a chuckle at that. The normally aloof Death Boy was now the one taking care of him and trying to cheer him up - oh how the tables had turned. </p><p>Before he could come up with some returning banter, he heard the telltale click of the chain at the very front of the line unlocking, and the people in front of them started to file into the seats of the roller coaster as the previous batch of exhilarated passengers disembarked. Before he knew it, Nico was eagerly propelling him forward and they were squeezed onto the uncomfortably warm seats. </p><p>
  <em>Oh no. Oh no no no.</em>
</p><p>As the safety harnesses were strapped on and the safety bar lowered, Will grabbed onto the safety rail so hard that his knuckles turned white. Nico grinned at him from the confines of his safety harness. His inner child was probably screaming in joy and anticipation. </p><p>Will knew he would definitely not be screaming in joy and anticipation. More like screaming in terror. <em>Calm down,</em> he reassured himself. <em>If you could survive two of the greatest wars in history, you can definitely handle a ride that most eleven year olds could go on. </em>Harley would probably be in stitches if he could see him like this now. <em>Breathe in: one, two, three. And breathe out. Breathe in again, and breathe out. </em>“Slow and steady,” he murmured under his breath, trying to convince himself. “You’ve got this Will. You can do it.” <em>Breathe in, exhale</em>. “It’s just a stupid ride. Don’t you dare ruin it for Nico.” </p><p>Nico turned towards him as if to inquire about his random mutterings, but before he could say a word, the countdown ended and the ride lurched forward.</p><p>It was even worse than he expected. He clenched his teeth and kept his eyes shut, using every ounce of restraint in his body to stop himself from screaming or crying out. He could hear Nico’s laughter ringing beside his ears, and normally he would’ve given everything to see Nico laughing (a very rare sight) if he wasn’t going a hundred kilometres per hour 200 feet away from the ground. Stifling another scream as the roller coaster plummeted, Will grabbed tighter onto the bar as if his life depended on it (to be honest, it did), trying his best not to throw up, feeling as if his stomach had been left behind at the starting point. </p><p>He suddenly felt something grab his hand over the safety bar. That object was warm, and felt like somebody’s hand - the touch was reassuring and calmed some of his nerves, but then the cart rolled through another excruciating loop-de-loop, and Will’s brain ceased to function as he gripped the hand even tighter. </p><p>Everything was drowned out as the wind roared in his ears. Fear overtook him, waves and waves of nausea hitting him every time the ride took a sudden turn - he wasn’t aware of Nico’s laughter subsiding when he saw Will’s face, or that Nico was squeezing his hand, offering him support and reassurance. Stomach churning, he thought to himself that maybe he finally understood how Octavian felt as he was catapulted towards the sky. And gods, that feeling was something he wouldn’t wish upon anyone, not even upon his literal worst enemy.</p><p>Beads of sweat trickled down the side of his face, mixing in with the tears that he couldn’t stop from spilling out. He prayed to his dad, and to all of the gods, that this would all be over soon, and kept telling himself that this was no worse than a ride in a flying chariot, except that the chariot was about to fall out of the sky while being tossed around in a hurricane. Pretty ironic considering the fact that he had literally just free-fallen out of the sky, and even <em>that</em> wasn’t half as bad.</p><p>After what felt like an eternity, the ride finally slowed down and came to a stop. Relieved, Will let out a shaky breath and very, very slowly, opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, probably because of his tears (and maybe the nausea). His hand was still intertwined with Nico’s on the safety rail, and his heart threatened to leap out of his chest with how frantically it was beating.</p><p>"Whoa, that… that was awesome," Nico spluttered, his breath coming out in small gasps. He was clearly still coming down from his adrenaline high, but even in the midst of his frazzled state his eyes were still trained on the blond-haired boy, concerned. The wave of nausea gradually subsided in Will's chest, his vision slowly clearing as he attempted to blink away the tears still clinging to his eyelashes. </p><p>He was about to raise a hand to wipe away those last few stubborn droplets, when he realized his fingers were still laced with Nico's. As if a bolt of lightning had struck them both, the two boys immediately sprung apart from each other upon this realization. Seeing as the passengers at the front of the cart were already getting off, Will took this opportunity to turn away his furiously blushing face and clamber out of his seat, almost falling on his face in the process. His mind, which should be plagued with thoughts of how dreadful the roller coaster was and how he was going to swear that he would <em>never</em> go on one willingly again and a million other rants, strangely only focused on one thing alone - Nico's hand was <em>so</em> <em>warm</em>.</p><p>"Hey, watch it." Will felt that same warm hand grab onto his arm before he could fully trip and embarrass himself in front of a bunch of visitors. "Thanks," Will managed to respond softly, willing the fevered blush to go away from his cheeks before steeling himself to face Nico properly. Much to his surprise, Nico seemed to be… blushing as well? Nah, the sunlight must've been playing tricks on his eyes, Will convinced himself.</p><p>"... You okay, <em>caro</em>? Will?" Nico's voice softened, though Will could detect a hint of awkwardness in his tone. Nico was never a master at comforting people. <em>Adorable</em>, Will's brain supplied. <em>Shut up</em>, the other half of his brain snapped back."I… I shouldn't have made you go on this roller coaster if I'd known you'd come out of it looking like you've been to Tartarus and back, dude. You should’ve told me, you self-sacrificing idiot," Nico's attempt at lightening the mood went straight to Will's poor heart. The emotionally addled side of his brain continued to scream <em>adorable</em> at him. Will decided to ignore it as best as he could. </p><p>“Hey sunshine, are you okay?” Nico repeated, waving his hands in front of Will’s face, and he couldn’t help but be distracted by how the vibrant golden hour sunlight set off Nico’s olive skin, giving his usually pasty complexion an invigorating glow. His soft but searching brown eyes looked like deep pools of caramel, and saw his genuine concern and determination to make him feel better held within them. Will realized, after a beat, that he had been too busy staring at Nico to pay attention to what he had said.</p><p><em>Sunshine?</em> That was a first - Will was surprised that he would hear Nico use his own nickname back at him. And if it damn well didn't shoot Will in the heart a second time, because he swore he felt his brain immediately short-circuit once the shock that he'd been called <em>sunshine </em>had settled in. </p><p>He cleared his throat as he started to remember how to speak, the words finding their way back to him. "Nah, it's fine… I'm fine. Besides, I know you've been dying to go on an exciting ride like this… um, no pun intended. I wouldn't rob you of this chance for the world." he reassured Nico, whose brows were still knitted together in worry. He tried to give the other boy a reassuring smile, and Will mentally patted himself on the back for being able to respond semi-coherently. </p><p>"I… honestly... Thank you. The fact that you'd… I mean like I could've ridden it by myself, but it wouldn't have been the same if you weren't… agh." Nico's voice broke, clearly trying to piece together what he was trying to say as he moved his hands around and tried to articulate his thoughts with his gestures. "Just,” he visibly swallowed, attempting to get his words out, “I'm glad you came along, Solace."</p><p>The amount of sincerity pouring from Nico's voice made Will feel unbearably hot all of a sudden. Once again, it was almost ironic that he was the one being called sunshine when actual sunshine was speaking such uncharacteristically warm words to him. He so badly wanted to reciprocate Nico's gratitude, to tell him he wouldn't have survived the ride without Nico noticing his discomfort and stepping in. But his mind was swarming with so many different thoughts that only the most prominent one bubbled to the surface, and without thinking he blabbed it out.</p><p>"You… your hands are really wa...warm." He stupidly blabbered.</p><p>This time, Will couldn't kid himself that the sunlight was obscuring his vision, because such a brilliant shade of red crept across the other boy's pale cheeks that he couldn't possibly have imagined it. "Oh, really? Guess I should take that as a compliment from one of Apollo's kids, huh?" Nico gave a nervous chuckle. </p><p>"Yeah. Who would've thought, death boy?" Will laughed. By this time all the previous feelings of fear and dread had vanished without a trace, replaced by a warmth in his chest that expanded by the second. 

Nico regarded him closely once more, brows slightly furrowed, as if searching for a sign that he wasn't as okay as he claimed he was. "You're cracking jokes at me again," he tentatively pointed out. "Does that means you're back to normal now, sunshine?".</p><p><em>There it was again, that nickname</em>. Somehow emboldened by that fact that Nico hadn't immediately grimaced, puked or ran away at that statement, <em>and the fact that he called him sunshine AGAIN</em>, Will decided to shoot his shot. "Yeah, I'm alright now. But… I'm sure I'd feel even better if you were holding my hand right now." Will desperately tried to suppress the nervous thumping of his heart, flashing what he hoped was a playful smirk at the other boy. <em>Gods, this better work out or I might need to hitch a ride home on dad’s chariot ASAP. Or just crawl into a hole and die of embarrassment.</em></p><p>If it was even possible, the seemingly permanent blush on Nico's cheeks deepened as he stammered out, "Uh, y..yeah, su..sure". Their fingers ran against each other awkwardly before slotting into a firm grasp, like two pieces of a puzzle coming together. The two boys were both blushing so hard they were unable to look at each other for a few seconds before they could formulate proper sentences. "That warm enough for you?” Nico teased. </p><p>"Hmm, alright for a son of Hades." Will responded in a teasing yet good-natured tone, as they walked out the winding pathway towards the exit. "Your hands are pretty rough though, you could use some more lotion. I’ll prescribe you some. Doctor's orders!" he teased. </p><p>"Ah, guess I can’t argue with that. But to be honest, your hands are kinda rough too, and I know something that would work even better than lotion. May I?" </p><p>Before Will could comprehend what was going on, Nico lifted up their intertwined hands to his lips, quickly pressing a small but affectionate peck onto Will's knuckles before lowering his arm and staring off into the distance like nothing had happened, clearly blushing more than ever. Will would've teased him for being such a cheesy sap if he wasn’t so busy swooning over what Nico had just done.</p><p>Nico had noticed Will’s flabbergasted expression. ‘What?’ he asked with feigned ignorance, seemingly unaware of the consequences of what he had just done to him, oblivious to the fact that he was the major cause of Will’s chaotic heart palpitations. <em>At this rate,</em> Will thought, <em>I am going to collapse from a heart attack. Any minute now.</em> </p><p>Flustered, he was at a loss for words as he tried to come up with a semi-coherent response, but once again his brain failed to provide him with any thoughts apart from OHMYGODSOHMYGODSWHATJUSTHAPPENEDOHMYGODS---------!!! That shut him up for the remainder of their walk as the two boys basked in the warmth of each other’s company (while screaming internally), their hands tightly clasped together. </p><p>Will was on cloud nine despite the lingering, nauseating feeling in his stomach. He felt like he was melting into a puddle, and this time he knew the heat was absolutely not to blame.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>What if......I got scared on a rollercoaster...... and you held my hand......and we were both boys.......unless......???<br/>Or.....<br/>What if...... I was throwing up...... into a flowerpot..... and you said it was free fertiliser while filming me from three feet away..... and I was throwing up into a fake plant....????? unless???  ʕʘ‿ʘʔ</p><p>Translation: caro = dear in Italian (any actual Italians, sorry if it's wrong/please correct us)<br/>Life is like a roller coaster not only because it has many ups and downs but also because they both suck - Will Solace in this fic, probably<br/>Anyways, the person writing the author's note right now was either at work or too busy watching Code Geass to write much of this chapter while my coauthors banged out 5k words/2 and a half chapters including this one during one fateful July afternoon, good for them because they did an excellent job. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as always, and hope you laughed at our jokes as much as we did despite being the ones who came up with them.<br/>Seriously, we were actually wheezing after we wrote the 'free fertiliser' joke in a cafe - I feel so bad for everyone else in the cafe we were so loud lol<br/>On that note, don't y'all just ADORE fierrochase? It's honestly one of my fav ships in the riordanverse. If you haven't read Magnus Chase yet, please do give it a go - you won't regret it I promise :)<br/>Also, we deadass do talk about your comments so please feel free to leave a kudos and write whatever you'd like in them. I promise they will live rent free in our heads for years to come :) Chapter 4 coming soon let's GOOOOO</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Roses are red, violets are blue, I hate Cupid, but I really really really like you <3 (Nico)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>As the ride began to pick up speed, the decal of Cupid passing over his head seemed to snicker, "What an unusual pair of lovebirds." Yeah, lovebirds all right. Nico noticed that the majority of the ride’s passengers were couples, with the guys slinging their arms over their girlfriends protectively. Him and Will stuck out like a sore thumb: him resembling a 2005 emo MySpace page and Will being a manifestation of radiant sunshine condensed into a human body. Fantastic.</p><p>TL;DR: the yearning in the chapter is ASTRONOMICAL. Nico thinks that Will is out of his league. Basically hurt/comfort except it's just him yearning/pining then comforting himself. Oh yeah, and they also go on a ride afterwards, inspired by the OG couple aka Percabeth in The Lightning Thief ;)</p>
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    <p><em>Damn, maybe I had more confidence that I thought I did, </em>Nico contemplated. He hoped Will didn’t think he was old fashioned for doing such a gesture: out of all demigods, Will’s opinion of him was one of the ones that he cared about the most. He silently congratulated himself on successfully restoring Will to his usually cheerful self. He glanced at the other boy, who had stopped walking and was leaning against a lamppost enjoying the warmth of the sun with his eyes closed. A lazy smile hung on his lips, and he looked the picture of relaxation. <em>I wish I could make him this happy all the time,</em> he thought dreamily. </p><p>Gods above, how did he manage to look so good even with his face still slightly green from the ride and his clothes still grimy from the crash landing? How could anyone make an orange T-shirt, khakis, flip-flops <em>and </em>a skier's tan look so perfect? He seemed to radiate light, bringing the sun with him wherever he went, illuminating even the darkest corners of a room. Not that they were in an actual room right now, but these details were insignificant. </p><p>Looking at the gorgeous, carefree guy that he fervently wished would be his future boyfriend, Nico couldn’t help but wonder if he would be good enough for him. Just because Will Solace seemed to like him now didn’t mean he would want to be with Nico for a longer time. People around him had a tendency to either abandon him, or get hurt. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to Will. </p><p>Besides, they were so… <em>different</em>. Will was a beacon of positivity, light and all things good in the world: would he really be able to put up with Nico’s dark moods, macabre powers and grumpy demeanour, not to mention his truckload of emotional baggage? Nico didn’t want his own negativity to weigh Will down, reduce him to a shadow of his former self. </p><p>And then there was the fact that he’d never had a significant other before. He had been doing pretty well earlier on, but to be honest, he was really bad at expressing how he felt, both verbally and physically. He really needed to work on his people skills. Harbouring the hope that Will liked him back was almost too much to bear: could he really handle the responsibility to be delicate with his feelings, to avoid breaching the trust he placed in him? And as for himself, was he really able to be vulnerable, flaws and all, with Will?</p><p>As he stared into this distance ruminating, Will’s face caught the light in a way that made Nico’s heart skip a beat. He felt the emotional walls he had built up over the years melting in a pool at his feet, as a fond smile unthinkingly spread across his face. </p><p>Of course, how stupid of him to think otherwise. Will had always seen through his edgy mannerisms, the excessive pessimism and the self-deprecating talk; he had torn down the defense mechanisms that he’d used to protect himself from getting hurt again and brought new light into his life. Apart from Reyna and Hazel, he was the person who made him feel most at home at both camps. He was the person who met his sarcasm with more sarcasm. He was the person who especially cared about his well being. And last but not least, he was the person whose presence constantly inspired Nico to become a better version of himself. </p><p>In fact, before the Gaea war, Will had always been nice to him and never treated him as an outcast. Shortly after the battle of Manhattan from the First Great Prophecy, which resulted in Nico’s short-lived glory, Will was one of the very few who didn’t treat him differently while everyone else went back to pretending that Nico didn’t exist as his fame slowly faded at camp. Sure, they never really talked, but every time Nico walked past him he would always smile at him, sometimes even giving him a little wave. </p><p>Whatever happened, he knew that he couldn’t let his own insecurities get in the way of giving this possible relationship the best he could. Nico decided that his heart was safe in Will Solace’s hands.</p><p>Grateful for the sunny weather today (Apollo must be in a good mood), he hummed to himself, setting his sights on the next ride. As he stepped towards it, a soft force gently held his hand back, and he remembered that Will’s hand was still tightly wound in his. Feeling his face heat up and hoping that Will was too busy basking in the sun to notice, he gently untangled his hand from Will’s, placing his hands back into his pockets, and sped towards the spinning ride. </p><p>After a little while, when he noticed that Will wasn’t following him, he scanned the crowd for his whereabouts and spotted him in the same place where he left him. “Hey sunshine! Are you coming or not?” he yelled across the distance. Will seemed to mutter something under his breath before he opened his eyes and jogged back over to Nico with the biggest smile on his face. “Aww, why’d you have to let go of me?”, he pouted, with mock hurt in his voice. He reached over and took hold of Nico’s hand once again, and his insecurities momentarily vanished as he dissolved at the touch.</p><p>“Hmm, they have a spinny ride just around the corner. It looks so… pink. Ugh.” The roundabout structure piqued Nico’s interest, though he scrunched up his nose at the completely pink exterior, which was a sickening sight to behold. Normally that kind of ride or decor wasn’t his style at all, but judging from the mass of people surrounding the ride and the faint chortles carrying over the wind, he was willing to bet that it was pretty damn exciting.</p><p>“It looks kinda fun though. We could go check it out.” Will piped up, absentmindedly swinging their intertwined hands.</p><p>“Wait… but aren’t you uncomfortable with thrill rides? Are you… are you gonna be fine with this one? I can go on it by myself, it’s fine. Really.” </p><p> Will’s episode on the Death Spiral had made Nico’s heart hurt with how distressed the other boy had looked. Even though he had calmed down relatively quickly, the image of Will clutching the safety bar like a lifeline, with tears dripping down his pale face and his eyes squeezed shut, was etched into his mind. And the fact that Will was<em> willing </em>to go to such lengths just so <em>he</em> could have fun… Nico wasn’t about to sacrifice Will’s wellbeing for his own selfish enjoyment. And as much as he wanted to experience the most exhilarating rides the park had to offer, he couldn’t… no, he <em>wouldn’t </em>let Will go through that again. Will’s happiness was, without a doubt, a hundred times more important than some stupid ride that he could go on at another time.</p><p>Will already looked much better compared to when they had just gotten off the other roller coaster. <em>I mean, he always looks good, but that’s beside the point. </em></p><p>“Oh, me? Nah, I’m good with like... less intense, slower rides like these. I just get queasy at sudden, high drops and loop-de-loops. Don’t worry about it too much, sunshine.”</p><p>“Are you like a hundred percent sure though? Honestly, I don’t mind if we skip this, I don’t want you to suffer on my behalf --”</p><p>“Aww look at you, being so considerate. Thanks, sunshine. But seriously, I’m gonna be fine. Promise.” Will smiled at him so sweetly that Nico felt his knees were about to buckle underneath him. He gave their hands a light tug. “Let’s go, shall we?”</p><p>Gods, why did Will have to be so infuriatingly nice all the time? As if he couldn't be any more smitten with him at this point - his heart filled with fondness as he allowed Will to drag him in the direction of the spinny ride.</p><p>If only he hadn’t caught sight of the gaudy neon pink sign: the words "WHIRLPOOL OF LOVE" flashed dramatically above the entrance. Nico couldn't stop his face from contorting into a very obvious grimace again, which made Will double over in laughter.</p><p>"<em>That</em> is probably the cheesiest name I've ever heard," the blond spluttered. </p><p>The entire ride was decorated in various shades of bubblegum pink, with deco hearts, flying arrows and angel wings galore plastered all over the sides of the carriages and the backdrop of the ride. His vision was pervaded by a horrifying amount of pink, and combined with the artificial, sickly smell of roses that attacked his sense of smell, it was almost enough to send him into a sensory overload. It felt like a Valentine's Day pop-up store had puked over the entire set-up. </p><p>"Oh gods, they've even stuck Cupid's face all over the place. Ugh. I ha… I can’t stand him." Nico spat as he examined the ride in all its corny glory. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind from the traumatizing memories that threatened to surface and consume his thoughts for the rest of his afternoon. No, he couldn’t let that happen, not when they had gotten this far. </p><p>Will must’ve sensed Nico’s discomfort - although Nico had never told anyone about what had happened in Croatia, the revulsion in his voice must have been pretty evident as the other boy visibly tensed up. He appeared to be about to speak, but seemed to decide against it after noticing his guarded expression. There was a brief silence before either of them spoke.  </p><p>"I bet the Aphrodite kids would be fighting to get on this ride. Not so much for us two though," Will laughed affectionately, trying to brighten the mood. Nico was glad that Will did not ask him about his previous outburst, which was surprising and very thoughtful to say the least. Anyhow, Nico was eternally grateful for it. "Yeah, all this pink kinda makes me wanna puke,” he muttered, his grimace twisted into an even grumpier pout. </p><p>"You know, if you're ever feeling nauseous, I could always come kiss it better,” Will shot Nico a playful wink.</p><p> “I know I’ll be fine as long as you're holding my hand." Honestly, he could use the comfort right now, his muddled brain mused, and it was all he could do to prevent that thought from slipping out of his mouth as he searched his brain for something else to say that would make him seem less... vulnerable? Desperate? </p><p>"I'll hold you to that promise, Solace,” he managed to tease back. <em>Gods, would every time Will said something flirtatious to him make him turn to jelly like this?  </em>"At any rate - design aside, this ride seems pretty fun. I think I could probably enjoy it with my eyes closed or something." Nico swiftly changed the subject. Any more flirting and his heart wouldn’t be able to handle the intensity of the emotions he was feeling right now.</p><p>"Let's go then!" This time, Will grabbed him by the hand excitedly as the pair made a beeline for the queue.</p><p>If anyone had suggested going on a hot pink ride that unabashedly screamed "WHIRLPOOL OF LOVE" to Nico several years ago, he would've probably chased them off with a horde of skeleton soldiers then dashed off beyond a hundred-mile radius of the ride. Now, as he stared at the disgustingly cute decors of Cupid as a chubby infant in diapers with his signature bow and arrows smattered across the wall, he couldn't quite believe he had actually decided to get on. Will was clearly content with their choice, humming a lighthearted tune underneath his breath as he looked absentmindedly into the distance. And, funnily enough, despite his loathing for Cupid (or Eros, whatever you decide to call him, he was a pain in the <em>podex </em>either way), he couldn't help but feel like this was somehow a blessing of sorts.</p><p>While he was assured that Will would never reject him for who he was, his previous worries of his lack of love experience came back to haunt his mind. Not to mention the big question that was still stuck in Nico's head. <em>Does Will like me back the way I like him now? </em>The logical part of him insisted that he'd still be fine with Will as a friend, but of course his heart hoped with all its might that Will reciprocated his feelings. <em>Maybe if I go on this "Whirlpool of Love", the Fates or Aphrodite might be amused and show me some mercy, </em>he pondered. </p><p>"<em>ARE. YOU. READY… to have the whirlwind romance of your dreams? Hold on tight, lovebirds, because once you've been sucked into the Whirlpool of Love, there's no coming back out~" </em></p><p>An overly perky and sickeningly sweet female voice singsonged as the ride jolted forward. "Wouldn't be surprised if Aphrodite herself decided to give this ride her own personal voiceover. She seems like she'd enjoy sappy stuff like this." Will leaned back into the plush magenta leather of their carriage as Nico tried to suppress another groan. Again, while the god and goddess of love weren't ones to dwell on a son of Hades (or a son of Apollo) for that matter, Nico needed all the love luck he could get at this moment. He didn't exactly want to get on their bad side by insulting this "Whirlpool of Love" any further. His love life was tragic enough. </p><p>As the ride began to pick up speed, the decal of Cupid passing over his head seemed to snicker, "<em>What an unusual pair of lovebirds." </em>Yeah, lovebirds all right. Nico noticed that the majority of the ride’s passengers were couples, with the guys slinging their arms over their girlfriends protectively. Him and Will stuck out like a sore thumb: him resembling a 2005 emo MySpace page and Will being a manifestation of radiant sunshine condensed into a human body. Fantastic.</p><p>Nico was acutely aware of the distance closing in between them, and how close they were sitting next to each other. Before he could say "screw it" and attempt to cling to Will, the ride suddenly accelerated with a burst of speed. Nico was thrown sideways and tumbled into Will’s side like a sack of potatoes. “Sorry!”, he yelled over the whistling of the wind, his ribs digging into Will's side almost painfully. </p><p>The skeletal butterflies were dancing around in his tummy, while his heart rate accelerated along with the ride. He tried to divert his attention from the boy sitting next to him, but all he could focus on was the proximity between them and how his side was plastered to Will’s. In a sudden burst of courage, he locked his arm with Will's and turned to look at him. </p><p>The other boy responded with a smile so wide that almost knocked the breath out of his lungs. He couldn’t help but gawk at him like a deer caught in headlights. <em>Holy Hera,</em> he mused, <em>Will was already attractive before, but I’m sure I'd go blind if I stared at his smile for a couple seconds longer.</em> On a scale of 1 to 10, Will was a 11 at this moment. Off the charts.</p><p>"SORRY, I HOPE DIDN'T SQUASH YOU!" Nico tried his best to scream over the wind and the hollers of the other passengers.</p><p> "I'M FINE. HANG ON!" Will yelled back, untangling his arm from Nico's and yanking him impossibly closer to his side by the waist. He didn’t know if it was humanly possible for his heart to beat any quicker as he forgot how to breathe. Will had commented on his hands being warm before, but he refused to believe he could ever be any warmer than the pure sunshine beside him. With their sides fully smushed together and the touch of Will's arm around his lower back, Nico felt he was truly getting sucked into a whirlpool with this amount of skin-on-skin contact. But if that whirlpool was Will, Nico wouldn’t even try to fight it. He would gladly let himself drown.  </p><p>Nico could faintly make out the sounds of Will laughing breathlessly - <em>the sound of an actual angel, </em>he thought, as he buried his once-again red face in his hands and screamed (for multiple reasons - he'd stubbornly blame it on the actually fun ride).  </p><p>Gradually, the ride slowed and came to a stop. While he was glad that he could finally breathe again, he was secretly disappointed that he would have to detach himself from Will’s side. He reprimanded himself for feeling that way. But then even for someone so normally aloof and detached, Will's pull was irresistible, like gravity, keeping Nico tethered to him.</p><p> "You're much lighter than I thought. Couldn't have you flying out of the carriage," Will laughed good-naturedly as he too retracted his hand from Nico's waist. "Well, I guess you'd better give me more rides on your chariot then, sunshine," Nico snorted as Will hauled him out. </p><p>He swore he could hear Cupid chuckling behind him as the duo exited the over-the-top world of pink, Nico's heart still thumping hard in his chest. The sun was slowly setting behind them, painting the horizon in enchanting shades of ruby, gold and purple and bathing them in a warm comforting glow. Apollo was truly in a good mood today. </p><p>Nico could only pray to the gods that his good luck would last. There was one more ride he'd desperately wanted to go on - curse his hidden hopeless romantic side - and he was <em>not</em> about to mess things up.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I honestly wish y'all could experience this ride irl it will literally crush you to death. But then again I guess more opportunities to sneak cuddles ;) (this ride actually exists at at local theme park but it's not love-themed. That's just us projecting into the fourth dimension, and this is a valid comment because I am a Physics major. And an actual clown, so there's that. I can't even spell the password to this account right. Seriously, I get it wrong every single time. No joke.)</p><p>I love this chapter because we get to see Nico being reflective, and the hurt/comfort trope is kinda subverted??? As in Nico addresses his own insecurities and tells himself that it'll be ok and that he should shoot his shot and get his mans.</p><p>Fun fact: this was actually the first chapter we planned out during the epic Hollister walk TM<br/>This was where it all started, so this chapter holds a special place in our hearts &lt;3<br/>Also that spinny ride is simply iconic irl (I know it doesn't sound cool in this fic but I swear it is amazing irl)</p><p>P.S.: y'all know the drill. Leave your thoughts in the comments below and give the fic a kudos if you liked it! We really do love to see it :)</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. How to turn into a human glow stick in six simple steps: a definitive guide by Will Solace - this is NOT clickbait I promise (Will)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Step 1. Check that your dad’s the god of light and the Sun (this step is CRUCIAL for this to work)<br/>Step 2. Find an opportunity to kiss your crush (or get your crush to kiss you)<br/>Step 3. Make sure that said crush wants to kiss you back<br/>Step 4. Smooch<br/>Step 5. Die of happiness. You should've turned into a human glow stick by now. If you haven't, that's on you (have you double-checked step 1???)<br/>Step 6. That’s it that’s the guide<br/>(Optional step: get interrupted by an Iris-message, godsdammit Jason)<br/>Warning: do NOT try to drink glow stick fluid. It may work but only once. Please do not try this at home. Trust me, I'm a doctor.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Note: the bit that Nico hums in Italian is to the tune of You Are My Sunshine by Johnny Cash. Happy reading!! :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>That’s it</em>, Will thought to himself smugly as they departed the Whirlpool of Love, <em>that ride was</em> exactly<em> what theme parks were invented for. </em> Just the right amount of speed, excitement, fun and of course, “unintentional” physical contact with the person you’re visiting with - besides the overdone decor, how could it get any better than that? Forget scary roller coasters. That last point alone was worth a thousand crash landings: actually, any excuse to pull Nico close was. Maybe the Whirlpool of Love was deliberately engineered to forcibly smoosh people into each other’s sides. That might make sense, given its love theme and all. </p><p>He made a mental note to recommend all his friends to bring their crushes here. Who knows, it might help set up more cute couples at camp. The next Percy and Annabeth, maybe? They were the blueprint for love, after all. That wasn’t an exaggeration at all; if anyone suggested otherwise they would have the entirety of Camp Half-Blood lining up to prove them wrong. </p><p>Anyhow, if he got very, very lucky, he might possibly even form a cute couple of his own…... well, if only he knew WHO NICO’S CRUSH WAS…... Gods, with the exorbitant amount of time he spent thinking about romance nowadays, if he hadn't already been claimed (and if he hadn’t been raised by his mom, who was very much mortal), he wouldn’t have been surprised if Aphrodite was his godly parent just because he was in <em>so deep</em>. It wouldn't do him any good to dwell on this any longer, he resigned himself to thinking: About Nico, he would see where the evening took them. One could only hope.</p><p>He didn’t realize that he had stopped in his tracks until he heard Nico shouting his name, glancing up to see him waving at him from the entrance of the ferris wheel. Man, they both really needed to be more aware of their surroundings, this was the second time this had happened today. Eh, things were just extra distracting at a theme park?</p><p>“Will, come on! The park is about to close and this queue is insane. If I miss this ride because of you, then you’re toast, Solace!”</p><p>"Relax death boy, the park doesn't close till ten. There's even gonna be a fireworks display at eight. Don’t worry, I checked a brochure." Nico visibly relaxed at his words. "Well then, what are we waiting for?"</p><p>Truth be told, Will couldn't wait to see the fireworks after learning that the theme park hosted firework shows on the daily. For one, the multi-coloured sparks and flares dancing across the sky always reminded him of good times singing at the colour-changing bonfire back at camp. And something within him had always dreamed of watching fireworks with somebody he loved - it just seemed inherently romantic. Ferris wheels were romantic too - having a little pocket of the sky to themselves to enjoy the view from high up. <em>And now I have the chance to do both, with Nico even</em>…<em> wait a second,</em> <em>do I love him? Jeez, do I ever think about anything else?</em> Will caught himself before he could let such thoughts get the better of him again.</p><p>Lucky for them, the queue dissipated quicker than they expected, the passengers in front gradually filing onto the beautifully decorated cabins. "Thank the gods, we actually get to have our own cabin! Sweet." Nico exclaimed as they clambered onto the carriage and sat down, putting their weapons in the corner. He was clearly still giddy with excitement, which brought a fond smile onto Will's face.</p><p>Once they were settled into their bubble though, Will couldn't stop his mind from wandering once again. <em>Love. </em>As if he had been shot by one of Cupid’s arrows, this word pierced his brain and all his thoughts halted immediately, concentrating purely on the four-lettered word. Funny how such a short word could hold so much power. <em>Love</em>, he perpended, <em>I wonder what that feels like, romantically. </em>His knowledge of it came solely from literature, movies and music: the way it was depicted in these art forms made Will wish he had a soulmate. He wished someone would hold his hand and comfort him in times of need; make him laugh like he had never laughed before, and make him feel things that no one else could - until it struck him, hitting him like a ton of bricks. <em>Oh schist, </em>he mentally exclaimed, as realization dawned on him, <em>am I falling in love with Nico? </em></p><p>But as he pondered over this not-so-shocking revelation, a little voice piped up at the back of his brain. <em>No.</em> <em>You have always loved him. Maybe only platonically at first, but it’s definitely something more than that now. You've just never acknowledged it. Until this moment.</em></p><p>At that mental epiphany, Will's eyes widened, the gears in his brain slowly clicking into place. Everyone had this unrealistic view of falling in love and wanting to find the love of their life, their soulmate - the Aphrodite kids could attest to that. Everyone believed that there would be this one, ‘perfect’ person that would make all their broken pieces fit back together - neglecting that there were already people who truly loved them at their sides the entire time, and how romantic love alone could not make someone whole. Wasn't it the same for the two of them? While of course their friends had also been complete angels in their own right, they had always been unwaveringly supportive of each other. Nico had done everything a soulmate could ever do for him, and more. Heck, just having Nico next to him was worth a million gold drachmas more than checking off a self-proclaimed romantic bucket list.</p><p>“What are you smiling at? And why are you looking at me like that? Have I got something on my face?” Will realized he had completely spaced out in front of Nico yet again as the carriage ascended - worse yet, he had been staring at him the entire time with a dopey smile on his face like some lovestruck idiot. Oh wait, he <em>was </em>a lovestruck idiot.The raven-haired boy looked back at him, his head slightly tilted like a lost puppy.</p><p>"The only thing on your face right now is cuteness. And I'm smiling like that 'cause I can't handle how adorable you are." The words poured out of Will's mouth in a rush, unable to control the overwhelming affection for the other in his poor heart. This was unlike their usual back-and-forth teasing. He must have said it with such sincerity that it took Nico by surprise, because he was once again treated to the sight of red blooming across the boy's pale cheeks like wild roses.  </p><p>"Thanks… thanks for the compliment, I guess. You're also… you're not too bad yourself, Solace." Now it was Will's turn to be shocked, like Zeus himself had struck him with a lightning bolt. Nico not vehemently denying the fact that he had been called cute, like he had before? <em>And </em>complimenting him? Will might have been raising his hopes a little too high, but for a split second he felt this rush of reassurance that Nico…. liked him as much as he did? That somehow those long suppressed emotions he felt for the other were present in him as well. And what he was about to do next would hopefully not be met with an unceremonious blade in his face.</p><p>Still surging on this momentary high, Will slowly leaned towards Nico, his heart pounding. The rational part of his brain screamed at him, <em>Will Solace, what are you doing? Abort, abort mission, now!!! </em>But he ignored the voices in his head and slowly lifted his hand to cup the other boy’s cheek. </p><p>Nico stared back up at him, shock evident on his features, but he didn’t pull away. Their lips inched closer and closer to each other, Will feeling the other boy’s trembling warm breath ghosting his lips, when all of a sudden a rough jolt of the cabin snapped them out of their trance. As if a spell had been broken, Nico's dazed eyes cleared and widened. He rapidly turned his face to the window, letting out a gasp. Their cabin had stopped at the very top of the ferris wheel. </p><p>“<em>Ladies and gentlemen, we are very sorry for the abrupt stop, but it seems like the ferris wheel has run into some maintenance issues. We apologize for the inconvenience caused and we appreciate your patience while we fix the problem in order to get the ride up and running again as soon as possible. Thank you very much for your cooperation.”</em></p><p>Will was on the brink of screaming and tearing out his hair from frustration. It took every ounce of his willpower not to pull out his arrows and shoot the ride operator for disrupting what could have been a life-changing moment. Sure, the birds-eye view over the now brightly-lit park against the backdrop of the surrounding valleys shrouded in darkness wereto die for, but that wasn't the point! Things had been going so smoothly that he swore the gods must've been feeling ten times more generous than they usually were. Now they'd just played a big old trick on him, JUST before he had finally mustered up the courage to kiss the boy he'd crushed on for so long. He could almost hear the Fates laughing at him.</p><p>"Uh... Will, we've got a message from camp too," Nico, not quite meeting Will’s eyes, seemed dejected as well as he pointed to the faint rainbow shimmering on the edge of the plexiglass. Great. An Iris-message out of the blue. If the mood between the two of them hadn't died down from that technical announcement, it was certainly crushed into nothing now.</p><p>Will turned around to see Jason Grace's face smirking at them in the mist, almost as if he knew what he had just interrupted. "How's it going lovebi - I mean, my dear friends?" he said, his blue eyes twinkling in mischief. </p><p>"Shut up, Grace." "What is it, Jason?" The two of them chorused at the same time. Nico was clearly grumpy now, which Will found just as charming. "Why are you calling? Did the <em>venti</em> plant another surprise attack on you? Better yet, were <em>you </em>the one to orchestrate the whole attack on us in the first place? Or are you just bored out of your mind and wanted someone to annoy? Hate to tell you this, Grace, but we’re- um- we’re kind of in the middle of something right now. The, uh, the ferris wheel just stopped and we have to help the staff, um, calm the crying children down, because Will told them that he was a doctor. Right, Will?’ Nico jabbed Will in the side, eyeing him with a glance that clearly said <em>help me out here.</em></p><p>"Riiiiight. So the staff asked you, Nico di Angelo, The Ghost King, Lord of Darkness, to calm down panicking kids. While you two are in your own carriage suspended in mid-air. With no crying children in sight. Yeah, okay. Makes <em>total</em> sense,” Will could see Jason trying to hold back his laughter as he raised his eyebrows at them. "You guys were totally not makin- I mean casually enjoying each other’s company in this very lovely, very romantic, very private ferris wheel carriage right there." </p><p>“SHUT UP!” they both yelled into the mist at the same time, their faces turning beet-red instantly. Had Jason actually been there, Will was willing to bet that Nico would have banished him straight to the Underworld in a millisecond. Though he would probably have kicked him straight out of the carriage first. He tried to give Jason his best death glare. <em>If he doesn’t stop talking,</em> Will thought, <em>I might have to curse him to speak in rhyming couplets, or acrostic poetry, for the next few weeks.</em></p><p>Jason just continued chuckling, clearly amused. "Ah well. Anyways, I was just checking up on you guys. Know you need some quality couple time and all, but make sure you get back to camp before it's too late. I’ve already made the appropriate, uh, excuses for your absence, but I don’t know if the cleaning harpies got the memo, so try and get back before curfew if you don’t want to get eaten. Oh, and by the way, I’m off to Camp Jupiter tomorrow and won’t be back until next week, so before I forget - happy birthday Will! Take care of him for me-” he nodded towards Nico’s direction with a grin, “will you?”</p><p>“Th-thanks Jason, I will”, Will managed to stammer out before Jason cut the connection and the mist dissolved.</p><p> After the embarrassment of the moment passed, Nico grabbed him by the shoulder and started shaking him like a coconut tree. “It’s your BIRTHDAY? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? We could’ve done something nice, like going to the beach or having a nice picnic or something. Oh gods, I even made you go on that ride, today must’ve been one of your worst birthdays, ever. Ugh, I keep messing things up, as always, I’m so sorry-”</p><p>"For starters, my birthday is actually tomorrow. But I reckon Jason wished me happy birthday first 'cause he'll be too busy." Will cut off the frantically rambling boy before he could find a million other things to blame himself on again. "Besides," he said gently, trying to soothe the other boy's nerves, "Any birthday I get to spend with you is a birthday well spent. You're not messing things up, and you haven't done anything wrong. I didn’t think I would have to verbally express this, but to make it clear, I really enjoy your company and I love spending time with you. Besides, I never got to tell you how grateful I am for you comforting me during the ride, sunshine. Thank you. ” Will smiled warmly at him, clasping Nico's hands in his own, mimicking what Nico had done when they were on the Death Spiral.</p><p>Nico seemed stunned at his words, his mouth hanging slightly open. In his frazzled state, a few panicked tears had escaped from his eyes, clinging onto his lower lashline. In the distance, the first of the fireworks crackled in the sky, exploding in florets of gold and silver and raining down like Christmas tinsel, lightly illuminating the side of his face.</p><p>“Hey, what’s wrong? I thought… I didn’t mean to upset you darlin’, I’m sorry.” Will reached up to wipe away the tears that threatened to drip down Nico’s face, tenderly brushing his thumbs across the other boy's cheekbones.</p><p>“No-nothing. It’s just that-” Nico paused, gesturing at the air and trying to communicate with his hands, “I’ve never had anyone take care of me the way you did - sorry, the way you do after I lost my mom and Bianca, and I-I just can’t fathom why you would willingly spend time with me or what you saw in me, let alone call me good company." Nico matched Will's gaze, and slowly, that precious smile began to spread across the corners of his mouth again. </p><p>Another round of fireworks burst into bloom behind them - glimmering shades of blue and purple, spreading out into the night sky like the crowd of butterflies fluttering in Will’s stomach. Nico seemed as if he couldn’t stop the torrent of words that he was now unleashing onto Will, like sand slipping through his fingers. "I think... I think that this, right here, is one of the happiest moments of my life, maybe even better than getting my dad and two other gods to help in the Battle of Manhattan and raising a skeleton army, maybe even better than finally arriving at Camp Half-Blood with the Athena Parthenos and defeating Gaia. Because this is all so <em>normal, </em>so mundane<em>. </em>Wow, who would’ve thought that I would get the chance to enjoy fireworks on top of a ferris wheel with a cute boy sitting opposite to me, just like an ordinary, mortal, teenager? If you had told me this three months ago, I would probably have stabbed you for giving me false hope, because I couldn’t imagine that the gods would ever give me a break. I never even considered living a normal life because I didn’t think I would ever get the chance to take a step back and breathe. I didn’t think it would be possible for me to live only for myself and not have to fight monsters or go on quests, or even, <em>gods forbid</em>, fulfill another stupid prophecy. I didn’t dare to hold out hope for something that I previously thought was impossible,” he motioned at the air around him, “like this, for instance. But now… I can say for sure that I'm happy. A hundred percent." Another burst of butterflies, this time in all shades of the rainbow, crackled into the navy shades of the sky. They soared over their heads in elegant arches before dissolving into little sparks. </p><p>Will’s gaze softened at Nico’s emotional outburst as he felt his restraint crumbling. Before he could second-guess himself, his hands reached out again to cup Nico's cheeks, which were burning with warmth under the tips of his fingers.</p><p>"I'm happy too. And honestly… thank you for telling me all that. You… you have no idea how much that… how much your words meant to me. You've made my day - no, my entire year. Seriously." Will said with as much sincerity as he could muster.</p><p>"I can tell, sunshine. Besides, if I had said anything more self-deprecating, you'd only respond with a hundred more things to tell me that I'm nothing like what I make myself out to be." Nico chuckled, the sound making Will's heart soar. Will hummed his approval. For now, there was just one last thing to do that could make this moment even more perfect.</p><p>"Hey, Nico?"</p><p>Nico didn't respond, but somehow his cheeks managed to get even hotter and his gaze dropped to his lap bashfully, but not before his eyes lingered momentarily on Will’s lips. He levelled his eyes to meet Will's gaze after a few moments, his brown eyes sparkling as they mirrored the rainbow-coloured specks of light flying around them. Will had a feeling Nico knew what he was about to ask him.</p><p>"Can I… can I kiss you?"</p><p>The cabin was silent for a couple of seconds, but for Will it felt like an eternity as his heart did flips in his chest. <em>Oh gods, what if I've rushed things along too quickly….</em></p><p>“I mean, on-only if you want to of course, it’s totally fi-fine if you don’t-”</p><p>He was cut off mid-sentence as Nico planted his lips on his, which effectively shut him up since his brain immediately shut down. Will let out a surprised little squeak as their lips came together, but he quickly melted into the kiss, gently pushing his lips back against the soft plush of Nico's mouth. They were both way too inexperienced and way too eager, but as Will felt Nico loop his arms around his neck and kiss him back with as much fervor and unbridled affection, so what if they were a little clumsy? This moment in time was theirs to have and theirs alone.</p><p>Will gave Nico's lower lip an affectionate little nibble, causing him to squeal and reflexively pull Will closer to him. Their mouths crashed together rather messily. They both burst into breathless giggles at this, but before Will could catch his breath, Nico lunged forward to press his lips against Will's again, as if he was afraid this moment would slip away from him, as if it was all an insanely realistic fever dream. Will was almost knocked off balance, but he quickly grabbed the excited boy by the nape of his neck. Tangling his fingers in Nico's ebony locks, he gently pulled both of them into a more upright position as he backed up against the wall of the cabin. He cradled the back of Nico's head, kissing him back firmly and lovingly with just as much need and want, eliciting a muffled whimper from the other boy's slightly parted mouth.</p><p>Fireworks exploded in the background as they continued to pull each other closer, bathing the carriage in a soft glow. Finally, rather reluctantly, Will leaned back a bit and traced his hand down the side of Nico’s cheek, their foreheads still touching, both of them trying to catch their breath. His eyes were heavy with emotion, one that Will couldn’t decipher. “Damn, I’ve been wanting to do that since you recovered from the war.”</p><p>“Thank you,” he began, “That was perfect.” Nico smiled dreamily, a faraway look in his eyes. “Want to do it again?” </p><p>“Where is all this smoothness coming from? Did Aphrodite just come down and bless you or what?” Will teased in reply. </p><p>“No,” he breathed, almost down to a whisper. “It just feels fantastic, knowing that you like me back. Almost surreal…... like I’ve just walked out of the Lotus Hotel and found the world upside down. Except this is a million times better.”</p><p>Will thought that if his heart filled with one more ounce of affection, he would spontaneously combust in Nico’s arms. Waves of light seemed to wash over him, spreading outwards from his heart. Held by his longtime crush in the softly rocking carriage, he wished he could stay in this little corner of the world forever.</p><p>He was reminded of that one line in a song by Taylor Swift, another daughter of Apollo, that he had heard on the radio a few months back. He remembered how her gentle voice drifted from the radio and resounded through the room, carrying with it the words that echoed in his mind now.  <em>I once believed love would be burning red, but it’s golden</em>, she had sung. <em>Yes,</em> he agreed,melting into Nico’s embrace. This is what love should feel like. Warm, bright and safe.<em> Golden. Like home. </em></p><p>Suddenly, Nico withdrew his arms like he was a hot potato.  </p><p>“Uhh… Will? I hate to ruin the moment, but you’re <em>literally</em> glowing.”</p><p>To his ultimate shock and embarrassment, Will looked down on himself to see a golden light emanating from his body. “What in Hades?!?!?!?!?!” He groaned, wishing nothing more in that moment than to crawl into a hole and escape from human civilisation. He’d gotten so excited that he’d actually turned into a <em>human glow stick</em>? This power would’ve been useful if they were lost in the dark, or during capture the flag, but realizing that he had this power now, out of all times? He instantly gave up all previous hope that Aphrodite was on his side. </p><p>Will checked his hands again. <em>Still </em>glowing??? <em>Ugh, I hate this!! Just when I thought nothing could ruin this moment… give me a damn break!</em></p><p>	“Oh Styx, sorry about this, I dunno what’s going on with me - with this…” <em>Turning into a human beacon? A traffic light? The Green Lantern? Or would it be The Yellow Lantern in this case? </em>His mind helpfully provided. <em>Shut up</em>, he told himself. “... this glowy stuff. I’m sure it’ll stop sooner or later. Or I’m hoping that it will, anyway.” He slumped over in the corner, embarrassed while Nico doubled over in laughter in front of him. </p><p>“Oh my gods, I’ve never seen anyone glowing look so grumpy...” he cackled, dragging Will out of his corner to spin him around, inspecting him from all angles. “This is literally the best thing I’ve ever seen……” The excitement in his voice and the look in his eyes almost paralleled that of his ten year old self when he arrived at camp for the first time. “Whoa, even your <em>eyes </em>are glowing……” he said, amusedly, tilting his face towards his own with a finger, “you must have it <em>bad</em> for me, huh Solace?” </p><p>Will faked an angry pout, cheeks turning crimson from embarrassment (though he hoped Nico wouldn’t be able to see his blush because of the whole glowing thing) as he tried for a dismissive wave. “Yeah, yeah, I’m glowing… are you done examining me like a lab specimen yet?”  </p><p>Nico snickered one last time. “No, I’m never gonna get sick of this. And to be honest, it’s kinda hot.”</p><p>Will’s mouth hung open. “What did you just… what… huh?????”</p><p>Before he could comprehend the situation fully, Nico kissed him on the lips again, this time pulling away a little too soon for Will’s liking. He didn’t even have time to react before Nico sat back down just as quickly as it had happened: tragically, his glow intensified.</p><p>Nico jokingly shook his head, the corners of his mouth still lifted. “If this happens every time I kiss you, we’re gonna get caught so easily back at camp……”</p><p>“EXCUSE ME, WHAT????!!!” </p><p>Before Nico could tease him any further, a cheesy tune played, signaling the beginning of another announcement. “<em>Ladies and gentlemen, the maintenance issues on the ferris wheel have now been fixed. The ride will resume in approximately five minutes. We apologize again for the delay. Thank you for your patience and enjoy the rest of your night!”</em></p><p>They exchanged a resigned look, slightly deflated. The golden glow around Will dimmed a bit. “Well, the ride was really fun while it lasted,” Nico sighed.</p><p> “Yeah, it’s been great”, Will said shyly, hoping the magic of the moments that they’d shared together would remain even after they left their hideaway in the sky behind. He laced his fingers through Nico’s. “Soooo….. after we get off this ride….. wanna grab some dinner at McDonald's?”</p><p>“Again?”</p><p>“Well duh. I’ll get you a Happy Meal, and I’ll even let you keep the toy and get you dessert afterwards. On me. Doctor’s orders!” He threw him a wink.</p><p>“Aren’t doctors supposed to not attempt to ruin my dental health?” </p><p>“I mean, your teeth’s lasted you around 80 years, that’s probably as strong as they get?” He playfully elbowed him.</p><p>“Ugh, please don’t make these <em>godsawful </em>age jokes ever again. It’s gonna get weird,” Nico groaned, but despite that snappy retort, Will’s heart was so, so full.</p><p>============================</p><p>Back on the ground, Will tripped on the steps, stumbling forwards until Nico steadied him, leaving a faint hazy glow in his wake. He prayed that the Mist would hide his glow from the mortals - he didn’t want to wake up the next morning and find himself on the front page of a newspaper. Headlines would read out: <em>Meet the hottest topic of discussion in the scientific community - teenage boy at a local theme park starts glowing after a ride on the ferris wheel, leaving scientists dumbfounded as they try to figure out the mystery behind ‘golden boy’.</em></p><p>Will looked over to see Nico smiling at him, which annoyingly magnified his glow. Ugh, when would this end?</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Nothing. I was just thinking about how this whole, um, golden boy thing reminds me of your dad’s card in Mythomagic.”</p><p>“Oh?”</p><p>“Yeah, his SSS rank card is all golden and shiny, and the art on it shows him radiating sunlight. His special power is called Supernova, where he turns into a corona of pure light and permanently blinds his enemies, it’s really powerful and looks awesome in the live action movie”, Nico rambled as he gesticulated wildly, accidentally hitting Will in the face.</p><p>“Ouch. Wow sunshine, if I didn’t know any better, I would think that you were attracted to my dad. Which, frankly, is very disturbing to think about.” Will grimaced at his words, rubbing the spot where he had been attacked by Nico’s hand.</p><p>“Holy Hera, now I’m disturbed. No, not a chance, sunshine.” Nico chuckled, lightly stroking Will’s sore cheek apologetically. It didn’t even hurt that much, but the gesture was touching. <em>“Tu sei il mío sole, il mío raggio di sole.” </em>his voice softened as he started humming under his breath.</p><p><em>Ohhhh boyyy. He was falling for him, hard. Why did he find that so attractive? </em>Taken aback by the tenderness of Nico’s voice, Will felt a blush blooming fiercely across his face like a field of flowers, completely flustered despite not understanding a word he’d just sung. Now it was his heart’s turn to clench so much it hurt. </p><p>“<em>Mi fai felice quando il cielo è grigio,” </em>he continued to hum as he gazed at Will, warmth and adoration pooling in his eyes.</p><p>“What did you just say to me? What does it mean?”</p><p>Nico shrugged, then winked at him. “Guess you’ll have to figure that out yourself, Solace. But I’ll give you a hint, the first few words mean <em>I hate you, idiot</em>.” </p><p>“Haha, very funny. You’re insufferable.”</p><p>“And you’re impossible.”</p><p>“I suppose we’re both each other’s significant annoyances now, huh sweetheart?”</p><p>“I----” Nico’s face turned crimson again. They were getting really good at reducing each other to blushing messes. He took Will’s hand and gazed ardently into his eyes. “Yes. And you are not getting rid of me that easily.” </p><p>Unable to hold back his overflowing emotions, Will reached down to pull Nico’s face close to his own and kissed him hard. They were both breathless as they pulled away, a bit sweaty despite the cool night air. Basking in the afterglow, he had never felt so content.</p><p>“So…… McDonald's? I know it’s cold out but I thought we could get takeaway and sit at the waterfront then maybe get some candy floss then hang out till midnight…” </p><p>“Whatever you want, birthday boy. It’s a date.”</p><p><em>It’s a date</em>, Will repeated to himself in his head dazedly. A date with the boy of his dreams, after months and months of secretly memorizing his McDonald’s order, slowly getting him to come out of his shell, and all those nights spent staring at the ceiling of his cabin thinking about him…. he could live on the sheer exhilaration that gave him for weeks to come. He felt like his sides were melting. “It’s a date,” he proclaimed happily, as they walked off towards McDonald's hand in hand.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Translation:<br/>Tu sei il mío sole, il mío raggio di sole = You are my sunshine, my ray of sunshine<br/>Mi fai felice quando il cielo è grigio = You make me happy when the sky is gray</p><p>Any Italian speakers, we're sorry if the Italian bits are wrong or do not make sense - please correct us!!! :)</p><p>***INCOHERENT SCREAMING ASKJDHGFAKJJSDFJKHAKSHDFKL***</p><p>THEY DID IT THEY KISSED THE MADLADS WE DID IT GUYS (brb recovering from the serotonin overload even though we've read this part twenty times since we wrote it)</p><p>Also, sorry for not posting yesterday, we were just super tired. We hope the amount of cheesiness with the ferris wheel and the fireworks is enough to give you lactose intolerance. ;))))))</p><p>Hope y'all enjoyed the shift in tone between them cuddling and Will starting to glow bc that's just peak clownery </p><p>Don't forget to like and subscribe for more romantic demigod life-hacks! XD<br/>(jk give this fic some love by leaving kudos and comments as usual, next two chapters will just be pure fluff, so pls bookmark the fic/the whole series while you're at it for more updates :D)</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Will channels his inner Karen (Nico)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“So, how’d I do? Did I get the order right?” Will asked expectantly. Though he had finally stopped glowing, the smile on his face was no less radiant. </p><p>He was so stunned that he couldn’t even manage a witty reply. “Surprisingly, yeah. Impressive. Thank… thank you.”</p><p>“No problem. I had to put this incredibly important knowledge to use somehow.”</p><p>“Were you saving it for figuring out how you could resurrect me from the dead?”</p><p>“I really hope it wouldn’t have to come to that. But I would definitely try.”</p><p>"Or we could just die together so no one has to resurrect anyone.” Nico deadpanned, then looked away and guiltily scratched the back of his head. “Uh, wow, that got morbid for a second."</p><p>"I mean, you're not wrong. I couldn't imagine living in a world without you there." Will said with sudden sentimentality.</p><p>"... Yeah. Me neither."</p><p>TL;DR: Fluff without plot &lt;3</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nico stared into the contents of his McDonald’s takeaway bag, extremely impressed. Being the gentleman he was, Will had insisted on paying for their meal and even ordering for him. “I didn’t spend all that time crushing on you to not know your usual McDonald’s order, di Angelo,” he had declared when he said there was no way he would know what he wanted to get. “You go there pretty much every other day, I think I’ve even lectured you a few times about it.” Lo and behold, he was right: a Fillet O' Fish Happy Meal, fries, a Sprite and an indiscernible lump of plastic lay neatly in the bag of food Will had bought for him: exactly what he would have ordered if he were there. He knew it was stupid, but Nico was touched that someone actually paid him this much attention, and that Will had done this small gesture to show how much he cared. He wasn’t used to being taken care of after surviving on his own for so long. A warm and fuzzy feeling spread over him, like he was unthawing in front of a fireplace after getting caught in an avalanche. </p><p>“So, how’d I do? Did I get the order right?” Will asked expectantly. Though he had finally stopped glowing, the smile on his face was no less radiant. </p><p>He was so stunned that he couldn’t even manage a witty reply. “Surprisingly, yeah. Impressive. Thank… thank you.”</p><p>“No problem. I had to put this incredibly important knowledge to use somehow.”</p><p>“Were you saving it for figuring out how you could resurrect me from the dead?”</p><p>“I really hope it wouldn’t have to come to that. But I would definitely try.”</p><p>"Or we could just die together so no one has to resurrect anyone.” he deadpanned, then looked away and guiltily scratched the back of his head. “Uh, wow, that got morbid for a second."</p><p>"I mean, you're not wrong. I couldn't imagine living in a world without you there." Will said with sudden sentimentality.</p><p>"... Yeah. Me neither."</p><p>The weight of their words settled over them, making both boys blush and look away from each other. Sensing the awkward silence, Will quickly rummaged in the bag, pulling out the lump of plastic that Nico belatedly realized was a <em>toy</em>. “Also, I managed to get you that Aphrodite Mythomagic figurine you were talking so excitedly about. It’s limited edition, and I can’t promise that no manager’s feelings were hurt in the process of getting it, but what’s done is done. Also… I figured that it’d be a nice gift, considering… you know, us.” He looked at him with a shy smile, tentatively combing his fingers through his hair.</p><p>Nico tried to imagine the friendly, all-around nice guy™ Will Solace getting in some poor McDonald’s manager’s face, screaming at them to hand over the exclusive toy. For some reason, Will acting uncharacteristically aggressive made him feel all funny. He couldn’t help but giggle at that mental image. The possessive streak in him was flattered, almost delighted that Will would go to such lengths for <em>him</em>. Anyhow, he felt like he could afford to be a little possessive after pining after the sunshine boy for so long.</p><p>“Aww, you did that for <em>me</em>? I’m touched. Thank you, <em>tesoro.</em> But next time, maybe you don’t have to yell. Just stab them and steal it from behind the counter.”</p><p>“NICO!” Will shook his head, although he was smiling from ear to ear. “We really need to work on your people skills.” </p><p>“Just kidding. Or am I?”</p><p>Will narrowed his eyes. “Hmm. I wouldn’t put it past you……”</p><p>“Wow, is this how lowly you think of me? I am <em>so </em>deeply offended,” Nico clutched at his chest in mock hurt. </p><p>“Well there’s plenty more where that came from, death boy. Guess you’ll have to put up with that - you’re stuck with me now, aren’t you?” He playfully stuck out his tongue at him, and Nico had to resist the urge to either slap him as hard as he could or kiss him until all the smugness vanished from his face. </p><p>Still bickering back and forth, they headed towards the waterfront. Lights danced invitingly across the skyline, flickering like fireflies in a jar. Distant guitar music from a faraway street floated towards them with the soft breeze. It was a lovely walk, Nico thought, a bit too sappily. After the kiss, he felt like he was seeing the world through rose tinted glasses. Fair enough: right now, he couldn’t have asked for anything better. </p><p>They picked a good spot, a bench tucked in a quiet corner overlooking the ocean, eating their meals and basking in each other’s company. Nico may then have accidentally bombarded Will with Mythomagic trivia for two hours straight, but his date seemed perfectly happy listening to him geek out on his favourite card game.</p><p>“So the other day, when Hazel came to visit, and Frank came along to say hi to Percy, we somehow started a discussion on Mythomagic and picked up where we left off in Rome last time - when I was turned into a corn plant. Ugh, that was an experience I’d never want to go through again: seriously what is it with me and plants? We just don’t seem to get along. Anyway, we were talking about the Africanus Expansion Deck when Frank whipped out his pack of cards from nowhere and started dealing them and we played for hours until Hazel had to drag him back to Camp Jupiter,” Nico rambled on, gesticulating wildly at the air around him, almost punching Will in the face and knocking over their drinks. </p><p>Will must also have sensed that Nico’s arms were flailing dangerously close to his face, because he took the chance to wrap his arms around Nico and tucked his chin onto his shoulder, still looking at him with starry eyes.</p><p><em>That smooth bastard.</em> Nico was speechless for a moment, the shock of Will touching him in such close proximity as fresh as ever. Gods, would he ever get over this feeling? He waited for his brain to reboot as he attempted to act nonchalant, as if the physical contact did not send a million electric currents through his body.</p><p>“Did you- did you just start... cuddling me to stop me from hitting you in the face?” </p><p>"Maybe," Will replied cheekily. "Did it work?"</p><p>Nico would rather die before admitting how much he actually loved the feeling of being held in his arms. “So… so, anyway, before I was interrupted,” Nico continued to rattle on, before he could get overly flustered and end up completely tongue tied again. “Frank was telling me about this new expansion deck that’s meant to come out in December, and I...” Nico trailed off as it dawned on him he'd been talking Will's ear off for the past couple hours.</p><p>“Oh gods, Will, how long have I been talking at you? Sorry, I didn’t mean to monologue, I just get carried away when I talk about that game sometimes, and I selfishly didn’t notice that you really haven’t spoken much at all… I just.. I’m not used to having casual conversations like this and I’m honestly kind of awkward I know and I’m sor--”</p><p>Before he could continue rambling, Will gave him a sweet peck on the lips. His mind felt like it had been instantly smothered by a huge fluffy blanket, and his entire body tingled like it was swarming with little skeletal butterflies again. So much for laughing at Will for turning into a human glow stick after they had first kissed, when even the smallest gestures of affection literally made him get butterflies in his stomach. It was as if Will was a bright luminous flame, and Nico was a jittery little moth hopelessly enraptured by his warmth. <em>Only Will could make me feel like a stupid moth, </em>he mused. </p><p>As if sensing that he had been distracted enough, Will giggled and kissed him again lightly on the nose.</p><p>“What--"</p><p>“No worries, sunshine. I like hearing you talk. And, as I’ve said before, you’re cute when you nerd out about things.”</p><p>A candy floss cart wheeled past them, carrying with it a tantalizing aroma of sugar and childhood nostalgia. Will stood up and offered a hand. “You coming to get candy floss with me, darlin’? I did say I’d get you dessert.”</p><p>Nico bit back a thousand snarky retorts about the irony of the head medic at camp suggesting they get one of the sugariest foods on the planet. First the ice cream and now this. Will was definitely on a sugar rush today and was well on his way to give both of them diabetes, though Nico was sure he was already emotionally diabetic with how sweet Will had been to him today. Looking back up at that warm honeyed smile, he took Will's outstretched hand. "It'd be my pleasure, sunshine.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Translation: Tesoro=treasure/ darling in Italian</p><p>If this were an anime, I would describe this as a filler arc, but luckily it is an extremely self indulgent fanfiction so I'm gonna describe this as the content that we came here for!!!! Any excuse is a good excuse to make Solangelo kiss!!!!<br/>Btw wouldn't it be funny if every author left author's notes at the end of their chapters like fanfic writers do, imagine them going "THEY FINALLY KISSED ASJKFREJKGLSGJK AHHH I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT :')"<br/>Anyways leave a kudos and subscribe (and bookmark and comment) for more fluff without plot!!!! Soon to dip into smut without plot!!!! ........jk unless O_O<br/>no we're actually joking this is a wholesome fic</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. tHiNk oF tHe ChiLdReN, sUnsHiNe! (Will)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Will you ever tell me what caro means?”</p><p>“No chance, sunshine. Not a chance in Tartarus.” Nico chuckled. “You could probably guess what it means though.”</p><p>“Judging from the earlier hint you gave me, I’d guess, something like jerk or piece of garbage?”</p><p>Nico playfully elbowed him. “Nah. Think positive, caro.”</p><p>The Son of Hades, the edgy Ghost King, the Lord of Darkness Nico di Angelo was telling him to think positive? Maybe he actually was rubbing off on him.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They made it to the cart at 10 on the dot, just a few moments before they closed up shop. Since they were the last orders, the shopkeepers had given them a discount and whipped up the rest of their leftover sugar into gigantic pink and blue clouds. Will bit into one and smiled, showing off his blue-stained teeth to Nico, who couldn’t help but grin back. “You are such a dork.”</p><p>Some part of him wondered why he was suddenly acting like a lovestruck fool, trying so hard to impress him, willing to go to any lengths to make Nico happy. <em>Because you are a lovestruck fool</em>, he reminded himself. But at least he had somehow managed to win his crush over today with a combination of luck, awkward flirting, partly-forced bodily contact and gods know what else because the previous points really didn’t seem all that alluring. Whatever happened in the future, he hoped that the bond they had built today would be permanent. </p><p><em>It’d probably all turn out fine,</em> his natural optimism reasoned as they made their way back to their bench. <em>Probably.</em> They’d definitely shown each other a different side of themselves than they usually do to others. Surely that counted for something, right? No one at camp knew about his fear of rollercoasters or how much of a nervous wreck he actually was under his usual cheery disposition, and very few people at camp knew about Nico’s shyer, sweeter, geekier side hidden under his brooding demeanour, probably because he was so used to pushing people away and retreating back into his shell. He didn’t expect to be trusted to such a great extent, which was why he was so moved by Nico’s decision to open up to him of all people. </p><p>He also definitely hadn’t seen Nico’s confession coming, despite his dad being the god of prophecies. How could he when he’d previously thought that Nico was way out of his league? A small voice threatened to pipe up at the back of his mind to remind him that he still wasout of his league - after all, Nico was the son of one of The Big Three and one of the most important demigods who’d played a major part in both wars, while he was merely a medic who couldn’t fight to save his life (except for archery, which he was pretty good at, but even as an archer he was subpar when compared to the rest of his siblings), but he pushed these insecurities down by casting his mind back to Nico’s spontaneous outburst of emotion. Ah, just thinking about it made him feel like he was glowing again, like he was sinking in a pool of oxytocin. </p><p>Truth to be told, he also hadn’t known how much he had needed a break until the surprise <em>venti</em> attack when Jason had unceremoniously dumped them into this theme park. Long hours of working in the infirmary had taken a harder toll on him than he thought: the stress of constantly having campers’ lives in his hands weighing him down like a ton of bricks. Although he would never admit it to anyone back at camp since he was the head counselor and the head medic (in other words, a leader), it could sometimes get overwhelming, and he would feel suffocated by his many responsibilities. Selfishly allowing himself an afternoon to himself to kick back, free from responsibility, to enjoy the attractions with Nico had given him an opportunity to breathe and a boost he didn’t know he needed, like an anemic taking an iron supplement for the first time. With Nico by his side, he had a chance to slow down and appreciate the smaller things in life: like how Nico’s face lit up in one of his rare smiles that seemed to be making more frequent appearances around him, how he held his hand reassuringly on the scariest roller coaster of his life (both physically and emotionally), how their eyes affectionately met in the middle of a conversation or how he absentmindedly twisted his skull ring when he was lost in thought or nervous <em>and oh Holy Hades, </em>he was in so deep. </p><p>For a day he could just forget about his doctor-slash-counselor-slash-demigod persona, and all the frankly debilitating duties that came with it. And after all they had been through today, maybe he could help Nico let his guard down a bit. He figured that they balanced each other out. Sunshine and darkness. Light and shadows. Death and healing. Two seemingly mismatched puzzle pieces that, somehow, fit perfectly together.</p><p>“Hey, you’ve finally shut up for once.” Sitting next to him, Nico was almost done with his pink stick of candy floss, carefully spinning it around in his left hand to finish up the remaining wisps of fluff like a child. In other words, he looked <em>adorable. </em></p><p>Will breathed in the crisp night air, looking endearingly at him as he spoke. “Yeah… I didn’t want to break the silence, because right now, it feels like everything’s finally fallen into place.”</p><p>Nico lightly punched him in the shoulder, curled his other arm around him and snuggled into his shoulder. “You are <em>such</em> a sap. I can’t believe you’re not glowing right now.” </p><p>“Aw sunshine, are you disappointed?”</p><p>“Maybe a tiny bit.”</p><p>“Well, y'know. You need to get better at making me glow again.”</p><p>“Hmmm, I suppose I do. I’ll take that as a challenge then?”</p><p> “Game on, death boy.”</p><p>“Looking forward to it. <em>Sei così adorabile quando brilli, tesoro.”</em></p><p><em>Holy Hades, </em>Will gawked at him as he almost fell off the bench. Hearing Nico speak even a word of Italian was almost enough to make him lose his mind. It was definitely a “romance” language for a reason. Despite the fact that he couldn’t understand it, the melodious way it flowed off Nico’s lips was unbelievably... seductive. Imagining all the different interpretations of that phrase, his cheeks took on a noticeable shade of pink.</p><p>“Hmm. Looks like it’s working.” Nico snickered back at him, looking very pleased with himself.</p><p>“Aghhh, go away,” He picked up his jaw from the floor and tried to focus on what he was thinking before. “Um… oh yeah, I wanted to ask you something.”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Well, about all that stuff you said in McDonald’s about the person you like appearing naturally smiley and kind and empathetic and even brushing their hair in an attractive way and all, like… is that - is that really what you think of me? Because I honestly thought you were describing one of the Aphrodite kids.”</p><p>Nico barely suppressed a laugh. “Really? An Aphrodite kid??” he snorted. “No way. Can you imagine? I mean they‘re pretty great I suppose, but <em>no way</em>. No way.”</p><p>“Alright then. Good to know.” At least that ruled out a few potential romantic rivals.</p><p>“And Will, about that other point…….” Nico’s dark brown eyes softened. “Yes, I think you’re all of those things, and more.” As if anticipating Will’s protests, he continued, “Since you’re so modest, I know you’re probably thinking about how you could possibly measure up to that. But I’m here to tell you that you’re just that great, and I will be around to keep reminding you of that, for as long as I can.” </p><p><em>Gods</em>, he thought,<em> what did I ever do to deserve someone like him</em>? <em>I must have done something truly incredible, maybe a miracle or something, in my past life for the Fates to be so unnaturally kind to me...</em></p><p>A sharp gust of cold wind suddenly whipped past them, and Nico curled in closer to Will’s side. “I know you’re always reassuring me, but I figured everyone needs reassurance every now and then. And you deserve it more than anyone else right now, <em>caro</em>.”</p><p>Will was floored. No words could do his feelings of immense affection and gratitude towards the other boy justice right now. “I’m - I…. thank you.”</p><p>One more thing though. “Will you ever tell me what <em>caro </em>means?”</p><p>“No chance, sunshine. Not a chance in Tartarus.” Nico chuckled. “You could probably guess what it means though.”</p><p>“Judging from the earlier hint you gave me, I’d guess, something like <em>jerk</em> or <em>piece of garbage</em>?”</p><p>Nico playfully elbowed him. “Nah. Think positive, <em>caro</em>.”</p><p>The Son of Hades, the edgy Ghost King, the Lord of Darkness Nico di Angelo was telling <em>him</em> to think positive? Maybe he actually was rubbing off on him. </p><p>Suddenly, Will had a brainwave: another fantastic way to heckle his crush (hopefully soon-to-be boyfriend). He snapped his fingers. “Ohhhhh wait, I get it now. <em>Of course!!</em>” He jabbed an accusatory finger towards his companion, who had a look of perfect confusion on his face. “How has it taken me so long to notice - I’ve been approaching this alllll wrong. All this time you’ve actually been saying things too suggestive to say in English, so you deliberately switch languages so none of the passersby or I would know how incredibly filthy your mind is…... gods, <em>I can’t believe</em> you’d actually say ‘I’m dying to know what the candy floss in your mouth tastes like’ to me  out loud, in public nonetheless…. you have <em>got</em> to get your mind out of the gutter, Nico!” he exclaimed, poking him in the nose. </p><p>“<em>Think of the</em> <em>children, </em>sunshine, people are going to stare…..,” Will dramatically raised a hand to his forehead as he fanned himself with his other hand, pretending to swoon and faint. “You must be sooo whipped for me, but don’t worry, we can take things as fast or as slow as you like. <em>Anything</em> for you, sweetheart.” He winked at him infuriatingly. </p><p>Nico’s eyeballs looked like they were about to pop out of his head as he listened to Will’s epic monologue. His candy floss stick clattered to the floor as he stared at him, cheeks cherry red, mouth hanging open, <em>completely </em>flabbergasted. </p><p>“Hello??? Earth to Nico??? Whoops, I think I broke him.”</p><p>“<em>Wi-Will…………….. what the… what even…………..”  </em>He straightened up and took a while to collect himself, then unleashed a torrent of words. “That is <em>so</em> not what I said, how could you even suggest that, <em>you’re</em> the one putting those words in my mouth, and who do you think you are pointing at me like that, a lawyer or something?” he rambled, enunciating his every point with firm sweeps of the hand.</p><p>Nico’s flustered attempts to cover up his embarrassment was absolutely priceless. Will smirked, feeling immensely satisfied that his plan had worked.</p><p>But then Nico paused, leaning forward to stare directly into Will’s eyes. “But... now that you mention it, do you <em>really</em> want to know what the candy floss in my mouth tastes like, Solace? Because it seems like you were projecting a little bit back there,” he hummed, voice dangerously smooth. </p><p>Will simply did not have the capacity to deal with <em>that</em> tone of voice at the moment. The last of the candy floss stuck in his mouth seemed to be interfering with his ability to talk. “Um…I... um...um, agh,shut up.”</p><p>“Make me.” A hint of a challenge glimmered in Nico’s dark eyes. </p><p>Oh Styx, who would’ve thought that Nico would be such a shameless flirt? He had (annoyingly) hit the nail on the head with that whole “projecting” thing - how perceptive of him. Recovering from his astonishment, he flashed his partner a knowing look. “You are <em>reeeally</em> asking for it this time,” he exhaled fondly, grinning as he leaned in.</p><p>He could feel Nico smile against his lips before he returned the kiss. And what both of them learned about what candy floss tasted like in each other’s mouths was that it was <em>pretty damn amazing. </em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Translation: Sei così adorabile quando brilli, tesoro. = You look so adorable when you glow, darling.<br/>Caro = dear/darling<br/>Disclaimer: Once again, PLEASE correct us if you speak Italian, we apologize for any translation mistakes.</p><p>I made Nico hold the candyfloss stick in his left hand because it is OUR self indulgent fic and *WE* get to choose his preferred handedness &gt;:) I mean him being left handed makes sense too somewhat (bc left-handers were perceived as evil and dark and sinister and being spawn of satan and whatnot back in the day which fits with Nico's son of Hades thing)</p><p>Also, that smiling-at-Nico-with-blue-stained-teeth scene is ripped straight from an episode of Ben 10 Alien Force, real ones know B)</p><p>(Clearly my coauthor is on a sugar high but it's fine she can have a little self indulgence as a treat)</p><p>Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy this second chapter of pure tooth-rotting fluff :D We'll have an inch of plot progression back in the next chap so stay tuned! As always, leave a kudos and a comment if you support Solangelo and their candyfloss shenanigans &lt;3</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. I like my boys how I like my fries: tall, blond and gorgeous (Nico)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nico pops the question.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sitting beside Will, Nico felt more at peace than he had in years, as if he had finally been allowed to rest after running the world’s longest marathon. He could take a break from the never-ending quests and missions that he had been so actively (and 99% of the time, unwillingly) involved with since he was ten. He hadn’t felt so… content since he had been thrust into the world of gods and monsters. </p><p>An irksome voice at the back of his mind kept insisting that he could/should not grow accustomed to this feeling of tranquility and peace, since, given his luck, he would probably be forced into another prophecy one way or another in the near future. It would only lead to more anguish and disappointment afterwards if he did. Regardless, he tried his best to forget all about the dangers and trauma associated with his demigod life. <em>Just live in the present and enjoy the moment like a normal teenager</em>, he told himself. </p><p>He watched the waves lap up against the shore, and though he had moved on from this long ago, his mind automatically drifted to Percy, who had, to his ten year old self, seemed so heroic, so admirable that he couldn’t help but develop a crush on him. He cast his mind back to the day when he confessed to him: his reaction had yet to fail to amuse him till this day. He shook his head as a small smile spread across his face. The thought of Percy being his boyfriend was even more hilarious. At the moment, his only wish was that the sunshine-haired boy sitting beside him could fulfill that role. Someday. In the near future, hopefully.</p><p>“Whatcha smilin’ for?” Will chimed, his voice shaking Nico out of his trance.</p><p>“Wouldn’t you like to know, William?”</p><p>Will opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything, he lifted his finger to point at something above Nico’s head.</p><p>“Is that- is that a shooting star?”</p><p>He followed Will’s gaze just in time to see a flash of light disappear from the corner of his eye, and as soon as it was out of sight, another sparking line of silver appeared above him, cutting across the celestial dome and leaving a sharp trail of glitter across the navy blue of the sphere. Wow, talk about a coincidence. </p><p>Will nudged him. “Come on sunshine! Make a wish!”</p><p>Shaking his head but obliging, Nico shut his eyes and thought hard. He didn’t really know what to wish for, but he made a wish anyway, sending up a silent prayer to the gods at the same time. <em>Please, let me be happy. Just like this. Let me have this for a little longer before you send me out on another quest again. For tonight, and tomorrow, and for as long as possible, I just want to be free to enjoy life and look at the stars and study the constellations with the boy I like.</em></p><p>As they sat on the waterfront, side by side, watching the shooting star cut across the sky, Nico rested his head against Will’s shoulder, enjoying the serenity of the night. Midnight struck as Will’s watch beeped, signaling the start of another day. Nico turned his head to look up at the son of Apollo, taking in his peaceful expression as he said gently, almost whispering, “Happy birthday, Will.”</p><p>Will pulled him closer. “Thank you, di Angelo. It’s been great so far.”</p><p>“Hey, it hasn’t even been a minute.”</p><p>“Now you’ve gone and ruined it. Being sixteen sucks.”</p><p>“HEY!” </p><p>“I said what I said.”</p><p>“Insulting me was the first thing you did once you reached this age, so I suppose I feel... honoured? Should I say ‘thank you’?”</p><p>Will put a finger to his lips, eyeing Nico mischievously. “Wellll, if you insist, you can make it up to me. You haven’t asked me what I wanted for my birthday yet, have you?”</p><p>Though Will didn’t explicitly say what gift he wanted from him, Nico had a hunch they both knew what he meant. It was as good an “excuse” as any for him to pop the question, so to speak. </p><p>He swallowed, fingers automatically darting towards his skull ring, suddenly a bit nervous at the prospect of what he was about to do. Will’s regular teasing expression had softened into a warm smile. He reached over and took Nico’s hand in his, thumbing over his ring that had begun to leave a reddish indent onto his skin in his worried fidgeting. </p><p>Nico tentatively clasped his hand around Will’s and forced himself to meet his gaze, mustering up all the courage he had for what he was about to say. <em>Well, here goes nothing.</em></p><p>“Will Solace…… will you… will you be my boyfriend?”</p><p>All the stars in the sky seemed to congregate into the sparkles in Will’s eyes, the freckles on his face. The world seemed to hold its breath for a moment.</p><p>“Yes,” Will replied, without a hint of hesitance. “Absolutely, sunshine.”</p><p>Nico’s shoulders sagged with relief: paradoxically, a small part of him hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly. He felt like he was floating on air, soaring on his feelings of happiness. Like them crash landing on top of each other out of the sky, their fates had collided, drawn together in this one perfect moment. As cheesy as it sounded, it seemed like this was meant to be.</p><p>Will looked back at him, his body gently glowing again like it had when they were in the ferris wheel, but this time less intensely and more akin to a warmly lit lantern than a glow stick. “Shall we seal the deal with a kiss?”</p><p> Nico couldn't help a gigantic smile from spreading across his face. “Your wish is my command, birthday boy.”</p><p>Their lips met softly as he cupped a hand to Will’s cheek, gently pulling him in. Will’s fingers fell lightly on the back of his neck, almost entwining with the string of his bead necklace. Nico felt himself get pressed against the solid wood of the backrest, gripping Will harder as they familiarized themselves to the rhythm of each other’s bodies, gaining more confidence as they went along. Will clasped the side of his face, and he gasped at the metallic coldness of his wristwatch pressing against the warmth of his skin, setting his nerves on fire. The tingles crept upwards and upwards until Will’s hands were behind his ear, then entangled in his hair, the feeling making him suppress another pleasured noise. </p><p>He pulled the other boy impossibly closer, letting his hands roam freely over his back, tracing little patterns and circles, feeling Will’s skin heat up under his touch. It was as if the pent up tension they had built up for months had finally found a release, now that their ambiguous relationship had gotten some damn well deserved closure.</p><p>	Just before Nico was about to pass out from a lack of oxygen, Will pulled himself back, his blue eyes glimmering with passion. Both of them wished their little moment could've lasted an eternity, but that was okay. He would have plenty of future chances to kiss his new <em>boyfriend</em>. Oh gods, Will was his <em>boyfriend</em> now. Nico could feel his heartbeat pulsing throughout his entire body. <em>Breathe</em>, he had to remind himself, trying to calm down. Take it slower...maybe just a bit. </p><p>They sat up beside each other, catching their breath.* Will turned to Nico, running a thumb over his lips. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of kissing you.”</p><p>“Me neither.” Nico murmured.</p><p>The gentle glow surrounding Will must’ve lit up Nico’s face, because Will’s face tinged pink at the realization. “Oh gods, I’ve turned into a glow stick again, haven’t I?” </p><p>“...Maybe. And maybe I find the fact that your eyes glow in the dark very… attractive...”</p><p>“Ugh… I hate it here.” Will buried his face into his hands, a few tendrils of light still seeping out from the cracks between his fingertips. </p><p>“Hey, it could come in handy. If we get lost somewhere dark, I could just kiss you, and you’d turn into a glow torch. Or, if we were on opposite teams in Capture The Flag and you were in charge of guarding the flag, my team would be able to see where the flag is from your glow so we could go get it and win the game, all just by kissing you. How convenient.”</p><p>“I can’t believe you’d exploit my powers like that, di Angelo.”</p><p>“Not even if it comes with kisses from your boyfriend?”  </p><p><em>Boyfriend</em>. It seemed like that word had just as powerful an effect on Will, because he opened his mouth again as if to retort, but let out an adorably grumpy huff when he couldn’t come up with anything to say.  “Hmph,” he finally replied, sticking his nose up in the air.</p><p>“There we go.” Relishing the fact that Will had admitted defeat, Nico’s face broke into a satisfied smile. </p><p>“You know, Will, actually… that reminds me - the other day I saw this huge McDonald’s billboard about french fries and it immediately made me think of you.”</p><p>“Huh… why? Oh, lemme guess, is it because I’m salty?”</p><p>“Well, obviously. But also… also because - right next to the massive picture of the fries was the caption. And do you know what it said? Tall, blond and gorgeous. Just… just like you, sunshine.”</p><p>Will was slack-jawed for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. “Oh, ya think you’re soooooo smooth now don’t ya, di Angelo?”</p><p>“Well, aren’t I? I saw one of my favourite things and connected it to another one of my favourite things. I think that’s preeeeettyy smooth.”</p><p>Nico could almost see the gears turning in Will’s head, expecting another snarky response, but he simply leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “Okay, death boy. Fine. I admit it, that was actually really cute.” </p><p>They held each other for a moment in silence, reveling in the simple pleasure of the other's company. Ship lights winked indistinctly in the distance. The sea and the sky blended into one never-ending stretch of dark blue, almost indistinguishable save for the frothy waves gently breaking across the sand. If he focused enough, he could make out stars when he looked up, arranged into mesmerizing constellations and patterns, like rhinestones on crushed velvet. The seaside breeze grazed across their faces, ruffling their stray strands of hair and leaving beside a faintly salty impression. Nico wasn’t a child of Poseidon - unlike Percy - so while the sight was gorgeous, he didn’t care too much for the almost chilly wind and the sea salt on his lips. Will’s lips (and the candyfloss) were way sweeter than this... gods, was he already missing Will’s kisses already? He should stop being so far gone for this boy - or maybe he should lean over and get another taste instead. Maybe. Soon.</p><p>Before Nico could sneak more kisses, Will looked down to check his watch and almost jumped out of his skin. “Oh my gods, it’s almost 1am and we still have to get back to camp. Today’s been fun to say the least and I totally wish we could stay like this forever and all, (Nico swooned internally at that) but I don’t think we’ll live to see another day if Mr. D or the harpies knew that we were out this late. I don’t want to turn into a dolphin or get eaten alive. We better find a way back quick…”</p><p>Heh, it was times like this that made him extra glad to have superpowers. And if he didn’t exploit them for some extra romantic time with his boyfriend, then what was the point?</p><p> He raised an eyebrow. “I got this. Perks of dating a guy from the Underworld: getting around is never very difficult.”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>He smirked. “Ever tried shadow travel?” </p><p>“Huh? Oh gods, Nico, I’ve told you before - no more Underworldly magic until you have fully recovered, which you have not, seeing as we fell out of the sky and crash landed A FEW HOURS AGO,” Will instinctively went into doctor-mode.</p><p>Gods, his boyfriend was such a stickler sometimes. “Okay, but consider this: we will literally be stuck out here till sunrise if we try to get back on foot now. Or I could always call up Jules-Albert, if you don’t mind being driven by a zombie driver who has absolutely no regard for traffic laws. Besides it’s such a short jump, I’ll be just fine.”</p><p>Will’s shoulders sagged as he relented. “Ugh… ok, fine. Just this one time. We are NOT skipping curfew again!! I hope Jason told them we’re safe... gods, I’m so annoyed at myself for making you do this, but we don’t have another option… ugh, I’m such a terrible doctor……”</p><p>“No, no it’s fine, it’s no trouble, this night was honestly worth it,” Nico soothed, trying to calm the blond’s increasingly frazzled nerves. He made his way to the edge of a nearby building’s shadow, eager to show off his underworld powers to his new boyfriend. With the tiny added bonus of getting back and not getting ripped to shreds by the harpies, of course.</p><p>“Umm, is this going to be like a roller coaster?”</p><p>“Trust me sunshine, just trust me. Hang on tight,’ he said. Will wrapped both arms tightly around Nico’s waist. </p><p>“Sure, Aladdin, I’m ready,” he joked, though his face turned a little pale. </p><p> 	With that, they melted into the shadows and disappeared into the darkness, leaving the sights and sounds of the waterfront behind.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Nico and Will really said........can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars....... because I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now~ (lmao)</p><p>Sorry not sorry for the clickbait chapter summary we have to get our views somehow!!<br/>Anyway we finally get to the iconic bit that our fic summary is from!! ALSO THEYRE BOYFRIENDS NOW LADS, WE HAVE REACHED THE "Soft boyfriends Nico di Angelo and Will Solace" part of the fic &lt;3, where they cutely chill by the waterfront for about 4 hours LOL<br/>Please pretend that they just keep talking and making out to fill the time difference between the last chapter and this one if it bothers you &lt;3<br/>Alsooo we know that shooting stars don't actually look like that and sea breezes r only a daytime thing (yes we did research on sea breezes, we say that as if we have more than 3 brain cells), but in this fanfiction world reality can be whatever we want. This is OUR self projection fic and WE can bend the laws of science.<br/>Also sorry for the delay, we really have no excuse other than the fact that we were too busy stuffing ourselves with street food (fishballs) this weekend and this chapter needed a bit more editing.<br/>Kudos n comments juseyo &lt;3&lt;3 jkjk we are not koreaboos </p><p> </p><p>*possible bonus chapter..... unless?? ;)</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk to Will again (Nico)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"Go to sleep now, you've tired yourself out. Doctor's orders." </p><p>"Mmm. Goodnight, Will," he mumbled, unable to manage another word. There were so many more thoughts he wanted to share with his boyfriend, so many more things he wanted to thank him for, so much more affection disguised as disgustingly sappy comments and hollow insults he wished he could've expressed today…. but for now they would have to wait until tomorrow.</p><p>"Goodnight, sunshine. Sleep tight."</p>
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    <p>The camp was completely shrouded in darkness when they touched back down, the only sources of light being the faintly twinkling constellations in the night sky and the occasional torches here and there. Judging from the peaceful silence surrounding them, most of the campers were probably dreaming away in their beds. Nico had decided to bring the two of them straight back to the edge of the ring of cabins through the trip. Quick, convenient, and an easy way to flex his cool Underworld powers to his new boyfriend. Will’s mouth fell open after they jetted through the shadows and arrived in a matter of heartbeats. </p><p>“Dude… how was that so quick? H..how did you manage to do that?” Will gushed as soon as they had come to their senses. He gasped for breath, clearly still a little disoriented and nauseous from their journey, but his eyes were sparkling like the stars. Nico slung an arm over his shoulder so that he wouldn’t plop onto his knees. For somebody who had never shadow travelled like Will, the experience tended to zonk them out for a while. </p><p>“That’s all thanks to my sexy shadow powers, Solace,” Nico gave Will a smirk as the two of them slowly made their way back to their cabins. “Yeah, that was sooo hot.” Will sighed, with such a heart-eyed expression that Nico honestly couldn’t tell if he was joking or actually serious.</p><p> He wouldn’t dare admit it yet, and as much the thought made him scoff, he genuinely hoped Will actually found him attractive. Will’s talent for showering compliments on him had honestly done wonders for his ego, who could blame him? Though, Nico supposed, when it came to Will it would always be a mixture of both. Now that they were officially a thing, he could awkwardly flirt and make cheesy jokes and snarky comments as much as he wanted to, knowing that his boyfriend would reciprocate every time. </p><p>Soaking in this little piece of comfort, Nico walked with Will still leaning against him in amiable silence for a little while. He hoped that no one would be there to catch them even if they were terribly late - this day had been way too short for his liking and it felt like the night had slipped away far too quickly.</p><p>“So… your place or mine?” Will said with a teasing lilt to his voice, as he gave the other boy a knowing smirk, clearly enjoying poking fun at him ten times more now that he had the liberty of doing so 24/7. Nico almost tripped over himself. “Wh-what in-” he sputtered, making Will burst out into silent laughter. </p><p>Before he could formulate a response though, a sudden wave of exhaustion engulfed his body, making his knees buckle underneath him. He would’ve toppled to the ground had they not been supporting each other by the shoulders. In an instant his entire body felt ten times heavier and his brain went foggy with drowsiness. Ugh, he should’ve known that nothing would ever go as planned today.</p><p>“Oh my gods, Nico, are you okay?” Will looked startled, as concern enveloped his features and replaced the previously mischievous expression, hauling him up. Nico leaned against his boyfriend’s shoulder, too tired to process much in his brain at the moment. “‘Mmmmm... tired,” he mumbled.</p><p>The effects of their shadow travel had really hit him hard today. Normally the side effects of a jump this distance were barely noticeable, if any at all - but now Nico felt as worn out as he had been the first few times he tried shadow travelling. Well, they had had a long day at the park, and he guessed the physical toll of all the rides and activities they had been through were really weighing in on him. Not to mention the emotional roller coaster his heart had gone through that was far more draining than any thrill ride. <em>It was all worth it though...</em> he thought. </p><p>His eyelids must’ve started drooping, because Will tightened his grip against his side and half-dragged him in the direction of the Hades cabin. Dimly, he reflected how nice it was that Will was holding back all his sarcastic comments about his claim that he would be jUsT fInE that were doubtless brewing in the back of his mind. “Tired,” he mumbled again against the fabric of Will’s t-shirt. So comfy… and so warm. His brain seemed to only be capable of formulating one-word sentences now and was on the verge of shutting down. </p><p>“Aww. Don’t worry sunshine, let’s get you to bed ASAP.” Will replied affectionately. The two of them waddled on like a pair of awkward puffins. Nico let his eyes flutter shut as he heard the familiar sound of the front door creaking open, the comforting smell of his cabin washing over him. He clumsily toed his sneakers off by the door, not caring where they fell in his woozy state. </p><p>Will’s footsteps shuffled along the floor until they stopped, and Nico felt the back of his head gently hit the plushness of his pillows. A slight rustling of fabric came from nearby, which he dimly recognized as Will unfolding his blanket before the soft weight billowed slightly and settled over his body.  “I’m sorry that you’ll have to sleep in dirty clothes for tonight, without even brushing your teeth. I would also get you your pajamas to get changed into, but I don’t think you’re really up for that right now.” </p><p>“S’okay.” he murmured sleepily. Tomorrow - Nico could do all that. For now all that mattered was that he was <em>home. </em>Safe. Warm.</p><p>With a substantial effort, he cracked his eyes open to see that Will was sitting on the edge of his bed, the whiteness of his eyes and the crinkles of his ever-so-fond smile just barely visible in the dark.  The cosy darkness reminded him of the times when he was much younger, when Bianca would tuck him into bed or wherever they had been sleeping, and wish him goodnight and sweet dreams. “My sister… Bianca... used to tuck me in when we were kids.” his sleep-addled brain supplied. He felt like he was about to melt into a pool of softness. Since when did his bedsheets and pillows feel so comfortable?</p><p>“You must miss her a lot. It’s okay, I know it’s hard. I... I think about my brothers a lot… I miss Lee and Michael too.” Will carded a gentle hand through Nico's locks, stroking his hair in such a soothing manner that somehow made him feel even sleepier. </p><p>Even in his fatigued state, Nico appreciated how Will did not say how sorry he was for his loss - he hated it when people did that, even if he knew they didn't intend to annoy him. It had always felt ingenuine. But he knew that Will, whose older brothers had perished in the fight against the Titans, would understand. He was sure he’d lost more people than that: bright lives cut too short, good people Nico would never get the chance to meet (in the overworld at least). After all, he couldn't have become head of the camp infirmary without having seen some truly messed up stuff. He could never imagine what Will could have gone through in the wars, when he couldn’t save the lives of demigods despite his most desperate efforts. </p><p>Nico knew from experience that demigods had a tendency to blame themselves for things that they have no control over. Will, with his selflessness and caring nature, was, without a doubt, one of them. The way he still managed to keep up his cheery disposition throughout all this tragedy was so... admirable and strong - if Nico were in that position he would’ve lost it long ago. He thought back to his ten-year old self, and how he had been in such a dark place in his life that even after all these years, he was merely a shadow of his former loud, geeky and overly-enthusiastic self. His heart swelled with pure adoration for his boyfriend. He swore to himself that he would always be there for the other boy when things got hard, no matter what happened in the future.</p><p>“I do… maybe we can help each other get through this.... together…” Nico snuggled further into his pillow. His day with Will had proved time and again that despite all the troubles and tragedies he had faced in the past, despite having lost too many people dear to him, including Bianca, there was always someone who would stay by his side, who would cheer him up with both uplifting and reassuring words and actions the second his demons got the better of him. For now, he closed his eyes and let his mind succumb to the sweet sensation of rapidly approaching sleep and the warm solid weight of his boyfriend next to him.</p><p>"Yes we can. Together. Don’t worry, you’ll always have me," came the response softly. </p><p>Nico didn't have to look to see the sincerity in Will's eyes. "I know. I love you too," he mumbled without thinking.</p><p>There was a beat of silence before he heard Will’s voice again. "Go to sleep now, you've tired yourself out. Doctor's orders." </p><p>"Mmm. Goodnight, Will," he mumbled, unable to manage another word. There were so many more thoughts he wanted to share with his boyfriend, so many more things he wanted to thank him for, so much more affection disguised as disgustingly sappy comments and hollow insults he wished he could've expressed today…. but for now they would have to wait until tomorrow.</p><p>"Goodnight, sunshine. Sleep tight." Will gave his hair a few more languid strokes before withdrawing his hand. The bed creaked lightly, the weight on his mattress shifting forward. </p><p>The last thing Nico was aware of was the slight warmth of Will's upper body brushing against his, as soft lips pressed onto his forehead tenderly, lingering for a few moments before pulling back slowly, reluctantly. He heard Will murmur something else beside his ear, but he was already drifting off to sleep before he could process what those few words were. </p><p>His heart fuzzy with something that he could only dare describe as overwhelming affection at that moment, he let the tiredness finally overcome him, feeling that the gods were in his favour and the stars had aligned for once in his life. </p><p>But had he known about the three campers who noticed their arrival, or the three pairs of gleeful eyes that followed him and Will’s late-night journey back to his cabin, perhaps he might have thought otherwise.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>*evil cackling*   *checks "forehead kisses" off "list of kisses to include in our fic"*</p><p>We just really loved the look of the L word on our final draft, it was so sexy we had to post it. Guess Nico wasn't exactly thinking straight - or gay (thanks @RebecaThomas for the joke we're temporarily stealing it) - when he said that, but who knows.....? Anyways they're just happy and soft and aaaaaaaa<br/>If you thought the past three chapters weren't fluffy enough, the sheer amount of tenderness in this chap should probably melt you into a puddle of feelings. (God I wish somebody could tuck me into bed. Don't mind me yearning on main *peace sign*)<br/>Anyways, this is the last chap of fluff we're gonna post before we launch into PURE CHAOS &gt;:) (nudge nudge wink wink)<br/>As always, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! Give this fic a bookmark if you wanna see our fave CHB charas and the Romans make a sneaky cameo in the next chapter hehe</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Rise and simp, sunshine! (Will)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Aww sunshine, why did you have to let go of me so soon?” </p><p>“I have to get dressed and I have to shower… I didn’t get to do any of that last night… ugh, gross…”</p><p>“Well… as your new boyfriend, I’m legally required to ask: can I join?”</p>
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    <p>Will rose with an unceremonious start. A firm hand on his arm shook him awake, and he painfully cracked open an eyelid to see the blurry but clearly excited face of Kayla Knowles peering down at him. </p><p>“HAPPY!!! BIRTHDAY!!!! WILL!!!!!” The cabin filled with chortles and cheers. </p><p>Will cracked a bleary smile. “Awwww, thanks so much guys…” he sat up, shrugging the blankets from his upper body and lifting a hand to rub the sleep from his eyes. Bluh...still tired.</p><p>“Sooo, what is our favourite camp counselor doing to celebrate his birthday?”</p><p>“Uhhh--”</p><p>“.........Do your plans involve a certain son of Hades by any chance??”</p><p>“<strong>OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!</strong>” Once again, the whole cabin erupted into whoops and laughter as if on cue.</p><p>“We knowwwwwww what you were up to last night! It took some of Jason’s finest excuses as well as master-class charmspeak from half the Aphrodite cabin to keep you two out of trouble! I don’t think Chiron bought any of it for a second, but love is love! And <em>no one</em> can resist a good love story!” Kayla waggled an eyebrow at him while Austin nodded smugly behind her.</p><p>“Agh, sh-shut up guys, I hate you all,” Will’s cheeks flushed instantly and he immediately buried his face into his hands. They would be over the moon if they knew that he had been too ecstatic about last night’s developments to get a proper sleep. How could he, when Nico had literally gone from “shut up Solace” to “I love you too” in one night? </p><p>“So? Birthday boy? You still haven’t answered our question - what <em>are </em>you doing today? Slumber party with Cabin 13? A romantic candlelit dinner? A cute canoe ride? Long walks on the beach?”</p><p>“OR- or we can ask him out on your behalf then shovel talk him as your birthday present…” </p><p>“Oh my gods yeah! I call dibs on interrogating him at breakfast!!!!”</p><p>“I’m after Austin!”</p><p>“Now where did I put my shovel.….”</p><p>“Ooh, we can get another one from the tool shed so we’ll <em>each </em>have a shovel---”</p><p>“It’s up to you, Will!” </p><p>“Please tell us you’ll pick the shovel talk, I haven’t had any source of romantic drama in my life for so long!”</p><p>“And I haven’t bought you a present either……”</p><p>Will sighed. Why did his siblings have to be so... chaotic? He loved them to bits, but sometimes they could be a little bit much. He sat up straighter (lmao) and tried to look as dignified as he possibly could in his dishevelled bed. “Guys, if you don’t calm down I will put you all on the night shift for two months straight.”</p><p>Obviously, his threat had zero effect on his delighted cabin mates.</p><p> “Night shift?? I wouldn’t mind if being on duty gets me dates with my crush that I’ve been pining after for SIX! WHOLE! MONTHS! I can’t take it anymore - all your constant whining was almost enough to make me leave camp!” </p><p>“Wait, have you finally asked him out yet? Please tell me you have.” </p><p>This important question cut through the hubbub in the cabin, which fell silent as everyone expectantly waited for his answer. </p><p>Since they were all being so (understandably) annoying, Will felt that he deserved to leave them hanging just a bit longer. “Wellllll…...about that…...wouldn’t you like to know?”</p><p>“Awwwwww come ON Will!!!”</p><p>“Yeah, Will, just tell us! Don’t be such a killjoy.” </p><p>They gazed at him with pleading eyes.</p><p>“Nope, not gonna happen. Y’all can keep guessing.” They’re probably gonna find out before breakfast ends anyway, he rationalized. Gossip in Camp Half Blood travelled faster than the speed of light. </p><p>The room filled with chatter again.</p><p>“Screw it, time to bust out the old 8 Ball.”</p><p>“Oh Father, the great Apollo, god of the light and prophecies, please accept my offering…. are Nico di Angelo and Will Solace FINALLY DATING? Dad? Daaaad?”</p><p>“Should we ask Rachel? Hey Rachel, RACHEL!!” Kayla spotted her outside the cabin and chased after her, half the campers following suit. “When is Will going to ask Nico out? Or has it already happened? Did you get any signs from the Oracle?”</p><p>With the chief pot-stirrer finally out of the cabin, the rest of the Apollo kids slowly calmed down and went on with their own routines.</p><p>Leaning against the doorway, Austin looked back at Will amusedly. “Guess people have moved on to harassing everyone else but you, huh?” he chuckled. “If I were in your position, I’d use this time to make a quick exit.”</p><p>“Mm, true.” Will nodded. </p><p>“And by the way,” Austin’s grin widened. “Judging by how absolutely ELATED you look when we mentioned di Angelo’s name today, there’s no chance in Tartarus that you guys are still just friends now.”</p><p>Although Will didn’t confirm any of Austin’s assumptions, the vivid blush spreading across his face to the tips of his ears probably gave him all the answers he needed. He had a sneaking suspicion Austin had known about this from the get go. Sometimes he hated the fact that his siblings had prophetic dreams, though he wondered if his relationship with Nico was important enough for them to be dreaming about it. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have been a highlight reel/ cringe compilation of their top ten most embarrassing moments.</p><p>“Anyways, have a nice birthday,” Austin continued. “Call me if you need someone to give you two a private saxophone serenade. Or some nice, romantic, jazz ballads. Or even, <em>gods help me</em>, poetry. Though I wouldn’t take that risk if I were you… but I’m built different. What I’m trying to say is you have options. In any case, it’s gonna hit different ‘cause I’m not like other girls.” </p><p>“That’s because you’re a guy, Austin.” Will sighed  He couldn’t resist the urge to roll his eyes at his half brother as he shook his head with a small smile. </p><p>“Exactly. Alright, I’ll leave you alone now. Enjoy the rest of the day with your boyfriend. Peace out,” he concluded calmly, throwing a pair of finger guns at him as he walked away, leaving Will gaping in his wake.</p><p>In this brief reprieve from being bombarded by questions and birthday salutations, he got ready quickly, excited to spend some quality time with Nico<em>.</em> </p><p><em>Boyfriend: </em>that word resonated deep within him. It was as if someone had dropped an Alka-Seltzer of happy feelings and warmth into his soul, which was now fizzing happily away. Gods, he couldn’t wait to see him. There was just something about his smile, his laugh, his presence<em> - don’t just stand there and be a sap</em>, he chided himself, smoothing his blond curls in the mirror. <em>Go out there and get your boy. </em>He gave himself one last once over, and finally strode out into the crisp morning air.</p><p>As Will made his way towards the Hades cabin, the events of the previous day echoed in his mind. He could hardly believe that they were real. <em>C’mon</em> <em>man</em>, he reminded himself. Even though the whole night had gone by like something out of a spectacular romantic novel, could you possibly have dreamt up <em>that</em> sensation of Nico’s lips on yours? Why else would you have a crumpled McDonalds receipt stuffed in the pocket of your jeans? </p><p>He turned over that piece of paper in his hand, remembering the shocked face of that poor McDonald’s manager when he had stubbornly insisted him to hand over the limited edition Aphrodite toy for Nico. It was all worth it though: for Nico, he would talk down a thousand McDonald's managers, just to see Nico’s face light up again the way it had when he found out that the action figure was his to keep. <em>Whoa there, isn’t it a bit too early in the morning to be gushing over him already? </em>He tried to think about literally anything else, but all he could focus on now was Nico’s nervous confession right before they kissed and the way he gaped at him after his every cringeworthy attempt at flirting. And most importantly, the muffled, quiet yet deadly sincere way he had told Will that he loved him too….. he knew that <em>in vino veritas* </em>was a thing, but did the same apply to subdued half-asleep mumblings? He was flattered, that was for sure, and a little shocked, but mostly he really didn’t know what to make of it. Maybe, maybe he wasn’t quite there yet, but as soon as he caught sight of Nico on the battlefield in that loud haiwaiian shirt, he had known that he wanted him as a part of his life in one way or another. </p><p> After his incessant knocking received no reply, Will nervously stepped into Cabin 13 and found Nico still sound asleep under the covers. He looked so angelic, so vulnerable that Will had a sudden urge to hold him in his arms, to protect him and shield him from all the evils of the world. The seemingly permanent scowl that he normally wore on his face was now replaced by a peaceful, serene expression. Will decided to let him sleep for a few more minutes as he watched the gentle rise and fall of his chest - he really deserved to rest after the stunt he pulled last night to get them back to camp in time.</p><p>With nothing else to do, he wandered around the room and took in his surroundings. Damn, whoever designed this place must have either been playing a prank on Nico or just have absolutely no talent at interior design. He had heard Nico complain about the choice of decor before, but he never really believed how bad it could be until now. Did they really have to make most of the beds <em>coffins</em>? Who in their right mind would do <em>that</em>? He made a mental note to ask Nico for updates on how his cabin renovation was going.  </p><p>Suddenly, Will felt a pair of arms circling his waist as Nico rested his face on his back. <em>Oh gods.</em> His stomach was doing gymnastics again as his heart rate quickened and his cheeks burned, momentarily gluing him to the ground. After a few painfully long seconds, as he came back down to Earth, he smiled warmly and turned towards the other boy, who was still comfortably nestled against his back.</p><p>“Good morning, Will,” Nico mumbled into his hoodie.  </p><p>“Mornin’ darlin’. Took you long enough to get out of bed.” He turned around and patted him on the head affectionately. “Time to go to breakfast, I don’t want you missing any meals, especially when you’ve shadow-travelled and tired yourself out last night...”</p><p>“Mmm…”</p><p>“C’mon sunshine. Want me to wait outside while you get ready?”</p><p>“Mmhmmmmm, don’t leave yet... you’re so warm… and I don’t wanna let go...” </p><p>Will didn’t expect Nico to be quite so cuddly in mornings. How endearing. He turned around and gently wrapped his arms around him, holding him tight against his chest. “Alright then,” he murmured, hands coming up to softly stroke his hair, “we can stay like this as long as you like.” </p><p><em>Maybe even forever, </em>the hopeless romantic in him contemplated. <em>What in Hades are you thinking,</em> the rest of him thought.</p><p>Nico gave a contented sigh and snuggled closer. Morning cuddles. He could get used to this. Holding Nico di Angelo while stroking his hair alone in his cabin? He had never thought he would get this far. For now, sharing this quiet moment with him, reality was better than any dream he could have ever made up.</p><p>Eventually, Nico’s arms slowly withdrew from around his waist, making Will immediately miss the warmth from his embrace.</p><p>“Aww sunshine, why did you have to let go of me so soon?” </p><p>“I have to get dressed and I have to shower… I didn’t get to do any of that last night… ugh, gross…”</p><p>Funnily enough, Will hadn’t noticed anything of that sort, even though he had been the one who had tucked him into bed then. He must’ve been too caught up in his romantic reverie to notice. But anyway, back to the golden opportunity at hand…</p><p>“Well… as your new boyfriend, I’m legally required to ask: can I join?”</p><p>Will grinned as Nico’s eyes widened, now fully awake. His jaw dropped as he stood there gaping at him before managing a flustered “Wh… huh???” He slowly narrowed his eyes as the statement sank in and threw up his arms in exasperation.“<em>Oh my gods it’s only like 9am can you chill out</em>??”</p><p>“Heh, just kidding, (unlessssss ;)))))). I’ll wait here while you get ready. Don’t take too long though, I really don’t want you to miss breakfast…” He gave Nico a quick peck before walking away to give the other boy some space.</p><p>Around 20 minutes later, Nico stepped out of the bathroom in a Fall Out Boy T-shirt and black skinny jeans, hair still wet and tousled from his shower. A faint smell of strawberries wafted through the hair. Gods, that smelled really nice. He looked even nicer, and it was all Will could do not to swoon and faint on the spot. **</p><p>“...wooww,” he said as he looked Nico up and down.</p><p> </p><p>Nico shrugged. “Enjoying the view?” he deadpanned.</p><p>“Aw, exactly how many times did you practice that line in front of the mirror?” Will quipped.</p><p>His master plan exposed, Nico looked embarrassed for a second, then his expression was replaced by an exaggerated scowl. </p><p>“All my hard work for nothing. Unbelievable. I thought you would at least stutter, or gape at me some more before you start glowing. Shame.”</p><p>“Ohhh give it a rest. You tried, sunshine.”</p><p>“Go to Tartarus.”</p><p>Will was too scared to say “make me” for fear that Nico would actually do it. </p><p>Instead, he stepped towards him and ruffled his hair affectionately. “Fineeee. Yes, the view is amazing. Would give it 5 stars on Yelp. 10/10 would recommend. An absolutely scrumptious 5-course meal. I’d eat you for breakfast if I could. Too bad cannibalism is illegal. Though you look so gorgeous it should be illegal too.”</p><p>“Geez, Solace, have you been memorizing pick-up lines while I was asleep or something?!”</p><p>“Why won’t you believe that I’m just that naturally smooth?”</p><p>“If you were naturally smooth you wouldn’t turn into a glow stick every time I kissed you.”</p><p>“Haha very funny sunshine, I said GIVE IT A REST!”</p><p>“Nope, not gonna happen, I am enjoying this wayy to mu-”</p><p>He was cut off as Will suddenly planted his lips on his. The blond pulled back with a little grin. “Hah, works every time.”</p><p>“You little sh- ok, fine, is this how you want this to go? Two can play at that game, sunshine.”</p><p>Before Will had time to respond, Nico grabbed a fistful of his shirt, yanking him closer and planting his mouth back on the blond’s. Despite him being the one teasing him just now, Will’s eyes immediately widened in surprise. Nico’s actions, however, ignited a little flame in the pit of his stomach. Feeling bold, he shifted away from the other boy’s lips and messily placed a kiss to the edge of his jaw. Trailing a few more light kisses down Nico’s neck, he felt the gentle thrum of his pulse under the pale skin and glanced up to see the other boy’s face flushed rosy red. </p><p>He gradually moved towards the graceful dip of his collarbone, and Nico instinctively leaned his head sideways to allow the boy more access. His eyelids fluttered closed and he melted against his touch as Will gave a tentative nibble against the soft skin, making the other boy’s breath come in short gasps. He continued to kiss the spot with a little more pressure, when Nico exhaled sharply and suddenly pulled back.  </p><p>“Hey sunshine, as much as I hate to interrupt - if we leave any marks we’re gonna have to spend the entire morning explaining to the entire camp. Besides, there’s that rule about two campers not being allowed to be in a cabin alone...” Nico rambled, clearly flustered from that episode.</p><p>“Don’t think it exactly applies to us, death boy,” Will crossed his arms as he raised an eyebrow. He tried not to enjoy the sight of Nico with disheveled, still damp hair, his t-shirt almost falling off the edge of his left shoulder and just the faintest, barely noticeable pink mark on the curve of his collarbone. Almost too soon for his liking, Nico tugged his shirt back on properly with an embarrassed look on his face and it disappeared under the dark fabric.</p><p>“Yeah, but I don’t think Chiron will look at this very favourably. I am more than sure a bunch of people out there suspect that there’s something going on between us. Besides, we kind of bailed on guard duty yesterday, remember?”</p><p>“True… and we do owe Jason a massive favour.” The morning sleepiness and cuddliness was slowly beginning to wear off. Will begrudgingly came to the realization that they would soon have to leave their little bubble and go face the menace that was his siblings and the more terrifying menace that was Nico’s overprotective friends. And though he was away for now, he internally groaned at the thought of having to thank a smirking Jason Grace in the near future. </p><p>Perhaps sensing his distress, Nico reached up and kissed his cheek softly. “Come on birthday boy, let’s go to breakfast, everyone will be wondering where we are and we don’t want any more speculation, do we now?”</p><p>“Pretty sure we’ve just become Camp Half Blood’s hottest piece of gossip for the week, but yeah, we should get going. And that’s not even what bothers me the most. You have some <em>very </em>protective friends and I’m not looking forward to shovel talks and death threats that I am no doubt going to receive<em>.</em>”</p><p>Nico blinked in confusion. “What do you mean? What talk? <em>Death threats</em>? Huh?”</p><p>Will waved his hand dismissively with a resigned little sigh. <em>Oh gods, why couldn’t he just stay here away from everyone else and cuddle with Nico all morning? </em>“Don’t worry about it for now - you’ll find out soon enough…”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>*in wine there is truth<br/>**=start of possible bonus crack chapter wink wonk &gt;:)</p><p>Yay we've finally hit double digits! This chapter has everything from chaos to tenderness to horniness (?????) to more attempt at humour and innuendos ;) , truly the full package, 10/10 on yelp. Finally more camp characters make an appearance, we hope you guys are happy with the way we portrayed them ^_^ Also, although we don't actually mention shovel talks in the next chapter, we're planning to write those in the next work in our series so stay tuned if you wanna see it!<br/>And what do you mean Austin is a self insert...no of course hes not idk what ur talking about *sweats nervously* (actually tho one of our authors is like this in real life, I really just be tooting my own horn rn)<br/>Please leave us some kudos and comments if you think Will is legally obligated to ask Nico if he can join him in the shower! And feel free to make guesses on who the three campers who saw them last night were ;) they seriously make our day!! (we'll lay off the serotonin mentions just this once, though this statement in itself is contradictory)</p><p>Edit: added a lil more context to the "I love you too" line</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Rhyming couplet curses and shadow travel make a good team, why won’t anyone leave us alone I want to scream (Nico)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“EVERYBODY SHUT UP!! THAT’S IT, YOU ARE ALL GOING TO SPEAK IN RHYMING COUPLETS FOR THE NEXT THREE DAYS!”<br/>Chaos ensues.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They arrived at the dining pavilion together, separating to sit at their individual cabin tables. Although it could get a little lonely sometimes because he was the only one in his cabin when Hazel wasn’t visiting, he didn’t mind the quiet as it gave him time to think and to appreciate the views of Camp Half-Blood in the mornings. Not that he did that very often, he wasn't exactly what you would call a morning person. But today, somehow, the cabins, the woods and even the lava climbing wall looked especially inviting in the sunshine: the canoe lake glittered under the gentle, golden light; the sight of the soft swells rising and falling on the beach exceptionally captivating. Nico recalled what Reyna had said about this camp being their home - today that sentiment struck a chord. After having to navigate the labyrinth that was the mess of his demigod life all by himself, he’d finally found a guiding light to lead him where he belonged. </p><p>Nico had barely sat down when he saw Percy Jackson plop down his tray and slide across the opposite bench to face him at his table. He groaned. So much for enjoying his breakfast in peace.</p><p>“SoOOooOoOOoOoOO, Nico……”</p><p>“Please go back to your own table Percy, you’re breaking the rules.”</p><p>“Says the guy who stayed out PAST MIDNIGHT WITHOUT A WORD TO CAMP with THAT SPECIAL SOMEONE OVER THERE! So, is he your type?” Percy jabbed a finger towards Will, who was currently attempting to eat a piece of toast and trying to avoid an interrogation of his own.</p><p>“You were out till almost 1am! And you were so tired that Will had to carry you back to your cabin... gods, what did you two get up to?!”</p><p>“Wait, how did you know when we got back?”</p><p>“I was on night duty, of course. Didn’t you check the schedule?” </p><p>“Schedule? What are you talking about? There’s no night duty, the harpies are there for a reason.”</p><p>Percy flashed his classic troublemaker smile. “Noooooooooooo. There is. It’s totally a thing. You’re assigned to it in groups of three. Just ask Piper.”
</p><p>“Groups of three….. Percy, who else was on this alleged “night duty” with you???”</p><p>As if on cue, a calloused hand clapped his left shoulder. </p><p>“WASSSUUUPPPPP ROMEO!!!!!! WANNA TELL US ALL ABOUT LAST NIGHT’S ROMANTIC ESCAPADES?? WAS HE A GOOD KISSER?? HEY WILL, DID NICO FINALLY ASK YOU OUT?” </p><p>Nico almost fell off the bench as the whole dining hall fell silent. Every camper turned to look at him. Most of them were snickering, while the Aphrodite cabin was whooping and cheering. From the corner, Chiron gave a disapproving sniff. </p><p>Nico could see Will stiffen in his seat. “SHUT UPPP, VALDEZ!!!!!” They yelled simultaneously, the red on Will’s face visible all the way from the other side of the dining pavilion. </p><p>Seeing his boyfriend’s flustered face, Nico could tell that Will was just as lost for words as he was. His mind racing, he tried to come up with something to say to defuse the situation. Just as he saw Will open his mouth to probably make some lame, pathetic excuse about how his love life was none of anyone’s business, he felt another presence slowly approaching him. <em>Great. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse</em>.</p><p>Piper had left the Aphrodite table and sat herself down next to Nico.<em> Ugh, were they holding an impromptu cabin counselor meeting or something?</em></p><p>“SO, DID HE SAY YES? WANT ME TO CHARMSPEAK HIM FOR YOU? ALTHOUGH FROM WHAT I’VE HEARD SO FAR YOU SHOULDN’T NEED ANY HELP - HE’S BEEN PINING AFTER YOU EVER SINCE THE WAR, YOU SHOULD’VE HEARD THE WAY HE’S BEEN TALKING ABOUT YOU ALL THIS TIME, NICO THIS AND NICO THAT AND OH MY GODS HE’S SO PERFECT WHY WON’T HE NOTICE ME---”</p><p>“OH MY GODS PIPER, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH WE’VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT WILL FROM OUR END TOO. IT WAS ALL WILL IS SO EFFORTLESSLY COOL, HE IS ALL SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS AND I DON’T EVEN KNOW IF HE LIKES BOYS, BECAUSE WHAT IF HE DOESN’T ACCEPT ME, LIKE I KNOW HE WOULDN’T, BUT I DON’T WANNA RISK LOSING HIM AS A FRIEND, AND WHY DOES HE HAVE TO BE SO DAMN ANNOYING ALL THE TIME---” </p><p>In this midst of all this, Leo had somehow managed to iris-message Jason, Frank and Hazel. Nico’s usually laid-back half sister was the one screaming back at Piper, while the boys nodded sagely from the call’s misty boundaries, trying (and visibly failing) to hold back their grins that stretched from ear to ear. Judging from the mischievous twinkle in their eyes, he would bet that Jason had given them an overly detailed description of their conversation in the ferris wheel. <em>Oh, gods. </em>With everyone’s eyes on him, he couldn’t help eyeing the crack running across the pavilion and wishing that the ground would swallow him whole. He briefly considered summoning some skeletons to create a distraction as everyone began muttering amongst themselves, Will’s siblings loudest of all. </p><p>From her table, Annabeth tried getting the campers to calm down, but to no avail. She shot Nico a sympathetic smile, and although carefully contained, her eyes shone with the same wild, excited glint as the others. She screamed at Percy to stop talking when he continued to bombard Nico with questions, and he sent her a silent message of thanks from across the room. The overly excited son of Poseidon finally had mercy on his poor ears and quieted down - until he caught sight of Jason on the other end of the Iris-message, who started screaming something like "YOU OWE ME 50 BUCKS", and Nico just managed to catch Percy's grin turn into a scowl before he launched into another passionate tirade with the other boy.</p><p>Nico's ears were ringing from all the noise and he could feel them burning up to match his already overheating cheeks. Before he could properly pass out from mortification though, Will slammed his fists onto the table and rose from his seat, his face as red as the strawberry jam on his toast. </p><p>“EVERYBODY SHUT UP!! THAT’S IT, YOU ARE ALL GOING TO SPEAK IN RHYMING COUPLETS FOR THE NEXT THREE DAYS!”</p><p>All the campers in the pavilion promptly began freestyling.</p><p>“Aw schist! Now he’s gone and done it!”</p><p>“Oh crap, I really can’t rap...”</p><p>“All  this time, and I still can’t rhyme!”</p><p>“Gods above, he’d do anything for love!”</p><p>“Please tell us more, is that too much to ask for?”</p><p>“It happened so fast, did you have a blast?”</p><p>“Was it love at first sight, or did he put up a fight?”</p><p>“But Will, you’ve still got to spill… did you go about and ask him out?”</p><p>Some of the campers look mildly concerned - stunned, even, at the normally sunny-natured boy’s threat. Most of them, however, still looked just as amused and by the turn of events as if they were watching a particularly juicy soap opera. </p><p>Even Nico was taken aback by Will’s sudden outburst, but it pained him even more to see the genuinely frustrated and fed up expression which looked so out of place on his usually bright, cheerful face. If they had to deal with the clamouring voices across the dining hall any longer, he would rather publicly embarrass himself than to see Will angry for another minute. His impulse control temporarily deserting him, he jumped out of his seat and took this situation into his own hands. </p><p> “ALL OF YOU - LEAVE. MY. BOYFRIEND. ALONE!!!!!!” </p><p>Oh. Schist. <em>What did he just say?</em></p><p>The hall was stunned into silence, and everyone was about to start screaming their heads off before he marched across the hall towards Will.</p><p>“Screw it,” Nico exclaimed as he reached the Apollo cabin’s table. He grabbed Will by the collar of his shirt and kissed him hard, who didn’t even have time to react when he pulled away. Face flushed, Nico gave the best death glare he could muster in that moment to the astounded campers, whose mouths were all hanging open, still processing what had just happened.</p><p>“Happy now?” </p><p>He glanced over to see Will smiling brilliantly at him, cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling like sapphires. At the sight of <em>that</em> megawatt smile, all of his anger and annoyance dissolved, replaced by a warmth that bloomed across his chest and almost made him melt into a puddle of oxytocin and indescribable feeling. The fact that they were still in the dining pavilion with a bunch of extremely nosy campers was the only thing preventing him from kissing Will like that again. <em>Yep</em>, he thought happily, <em>this was absolutely worth my public humiliation</em>. <em>I would do this all over again just to see him smile at me like this. </em></p><p>While the rest of the campers tried to pick their jaws off the floor and waited for their brain cells to activate, he grabbed Will’s hand and an extra piece of toast before dragging him out of the dining hall. Austin, ever versatile, had brought his saxophone with him to breakfast and started loudly playing "Careless Whisper". Claps, cheers and assorted free verse followed them all the way to the canoe lake.</p><p>“Summer sun, something’s begun! Oh jeez, I’m quoting Grease!”</p><p>“That was sublime, about damn time!”</p><p>“Fantastic kiss, I want a love like this!”</p><p>“They’re just showing off, now they’re going off, the audacity of the caucasity!</p><p>Nico chuckled at the poetic commentary as he sprinted away.<em> Perks of having a powerful boyfriend, </em>he mused. He could handle the quick transport, Will could take revenge on everyone who dared to tease them. What a power couple: rhyming couplets and shadow travel. Who would’ve thought? Together they were invincible, like they were on top of the world. </p><p>Finally, they reached the edge of the lake, a secluded spot with a log and a few shady willows. A panoramic vista of far off mountains and lakes surrounded them, and he could hear the occasional swish of nearby naiads as they flipped around in the water. Nico gazed at the view that he had seen a million times before, which now seemed to shine with a newfound radiance. The world was beautiful, calm and theirs for the taking, wrapped in sparkling waves of morning sunlight. </p><p>He glanced back at Will, who had a dreamy grin on his face, and turned around to meet his eyes. </p><p>“Well, now what?”</p><p>Nico perched himself on a log and took a bite out of his toast. “Now we sit here while I finish my breakfast, chill out, and enjoy each other’s company on your birthday while avoiding overly annoying and invasive questions in the form of bad prose from the other campers. And possibly… involve a little fooling around?” </p><p>Will beamed so dazzlingly that it made his heart do a flip and his breath catch. “Couldn’t have come up with a better plan,” he said, kissing him on the cheek.</p><p>The gentle touch reminded him of the night before, that last quiet moment they shared while he was tucked in bed when he had maybe mumbled… something he shouldn’t have said to Will when he was half asleep. He couldn’t shake the feeling that it was important, and that even though he couldn’t really remember what it was, he somehow knew that he would be saying it again soon.</p><p>“By the way, about last night, as I was falling asleep… did I say anything embarrassing?”</p><p>There was a pause as Will looked away and fiddled with his hands. A ghost of a smile flitted across his lips, and Nico thought his cheeks looked a little rosier when he finally looked back towards him. </p><p>“No, not really.”</p><p>“...not really?”</p><p>“No. I mean yes, not really.”</p><p>“You hesitated.”</p><p>“And what about it?”</p><p>“You also blushed.”</p><p>“And your point is?”</p><p>“Oh my gods.” Nico threw his hands up in exasperation. “Fine. I’ll remember eventually.”</p><p>“Consider this as payback for all the things you said in Italian that you’ve refused to translate.” He retorted. </p><p>“Ugh. <em>Sei un tale idiota - non riesco a credere quanto mi piaci.</em>”</p><p>“Alright then, keep your secrets...... wait, did you just call me an idiot?”</p><p>“<em>Sì, idiota.”</em></p><p>Will grinned. “Fine, be that way. One day I’m going to learn Italian and find out what you’ve been saying all this time. I bet they were insults. Or maybe you were actually being sappy and romantic. Or maybe we’ll finally find out how deep your mind is in that gutter.”</p><p>“Good luck with that, Solace.”</p><p>They ate breakfast in amicable silence for a while until Will put his arm around Nico’s shoulder and started to speak again.</p><p>“By the way, haven’t you noticed how we’re always hanging out by waterfronts?”</p><p>Nico finished his mouthful of toast, contemplating. “Oh yeah. That can be our thing, I guess.”</p><p>“Well, I hope we can keep that up because…” Will swallowed hesitantly, eyes darting from left to right. “I… I want to keep you around for as long as I can.” </p><p>Nico snuggled deeper into his shoulder and held his boyfriend tighter.</p><p>“Me too, sunshine. Me too.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Translation: sei un tale idiota - non riesco a credere quanto mi piaci = you are such an idiot - I can't believe how much I like you<br/>sì, idiota = yes, idiot (for my fellow coauthors)</p><p>As always, if the translation is wrong, please correct us. :)</p><p>LMAO we're alive - hope this was worth the wait </p><p>Lowkey this has been sitting in our drafts for like a month and a bit but we only decided to properly edit now bc life &gt;:(</p><p>And yes I legit just ripped off the rhyming couplets from 'summer nights' from grease </p><p>Finally it's over! For those of you who thought that we would go with a nice cute straightforward reveal, you underestimated our clownery. We planned the ending to be as chaotic as this from the get go. We really didn't think it would go any other way, seeing as people at Camp Half Blood would never go easy on them. Percy Piper Leo are a fantastic trio (bars). </p><p>Pls listen to 'guiding light' by mumford &amp; sons it's so good and it fits them perfectly askjdfnkasdkfhahs (spot the song reference in this chapter)</p><p>To those of you who have read The Tower of Nero: we predicted several Solangelo aspects of the story (no spoilers), and ngl we feel galaxy brained rn and currently honking our own horns </p><p>Sorry again for the wait, we know we suck but you guys don't xoxo</p><p>Thank you thank you thank you so much for sticking around long enough to read the ending, y'all are the real ones (if i were you i would've forgotten about this fic back n like chapter 3 lol) &lt;3333333</p><p>More fics coming soon, stay tuned ;) (possibly crack chapters and bonus content from this fic if you wanna read them)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. We want to get to 30k so here is 500 words of pure crack</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This 1D fic was started because one of us had writer's block after Nico and Will became boyfriends, so this clusterfuck of a chapter was born instead :D<br/>Another disclaimer: our other Directioner friend disagreed with our assignment of roles to the members in the mafia AU, BUT WE'RE BUILT DIFFERENT</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>DISCLAIMER: PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY THIS IS AS MUCH OF A JOKE AS MY LIFE<br/>WE CLAIM NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY POTENTIAL EYE BLEACHING YOU MAY HAVE TO UNDERGO AFTERWARDS (jkjk)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Kidnapped by One Direction &lt;3 </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>A bag closed over their heads and they were kidnapped by One Direction.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>“Oi lads!” A cheerful British accent rang out. Will’s hair magically formed itself into a messy bun. A pair of glistening green orbs came into view over the bag’s opening. “How are you, y/n? I’m the leader of the New York Mafia, are you lost babygorl?” </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Nico scowled and punched him in the face. “He’s my boyfriend you bitch. Couple million in the whole wide world, find another cuz he belongs to me!” </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>The green orbs, belonging to Harry Styles, mafia leader and lead singer of One Direction, rolled backwards in his head as he passed out on the floor.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Louis, his second in command took over. “Don’t you know? Your father sold you to us as our slave! So y/n, you have to do whatever we want now!”</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>“My father would never do that! Let us go NOW! You’ve ruined everything!” Will seethed. “Also, why are you calling me y/n?”</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>          “That’s what your father called you innit? Anyway, get used to it luv &lt;3”</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Will was shocked. He thrashed around in his bag, fighting to get out. “How did you say &lt;3 out loud? Also, my father will hear about this!!!”</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>	“Your father won’t be hearing anything of you in a long time! You’re our slave now, remember?” Zayn, the rogue assassin spoke up with an evil smirk.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>His dark chocolate globes glinted dangerously in the moonlight.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>	Nico did a triple backflip from inside the bag and kicked Zayn in the family jewels, then put Louis into a chokehold as the bag ripped to shreds around him. Will jumped in midair and tackled the two figures standing in shadow, Niall Horan and Liam Payne. They doubled over in payne. Will brushed the dirt off his ripped skinny jeans and tied his high top’s shoelaces that he stole from the president. Louis’s sapphire spheres sparkled angrily. “DON’T LET THEM GET AWAY LADS!!!! SIMON WILL KILL US! WHO WILL DEAL WITH THESE CRAZY FANGIRLS NOW???” he huffed, trembling in Nico’s iron grip. Harry chose that moment to awaken from his coma.  “You can do whatever you want to me, but don’t hurt my boyfriend! I have loved him since I was 18!”</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>“Boyfriend? So you finally admit it? Are we dating now?” Louis touched his fingertips to each other and made a pleading face. </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>“What if… we got knocked out by our hostages… and I told you that you were my boyfriend… and you proposed to me… and we were both boys? Jk unless...”</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Harry pulled a ring out of his pocket.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>“Maybe it’s the way you walked, straight into my heart and stole it - will you be the okay to my always?”</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>“YESSS!!” Louis croaked, then finally passed out. Nico let go of him, and Harry ran to catch him tenderly in his arms just before he hit the floor.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Everyone uncontrollably started clapping. “Finally! Let’s go crazy till we see the sun,” they exclaimed, throwing confetti in the air.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>“Vas happenin’ here Will,” Nico said incredulously. “Let’s head out.” </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>“That was kinda sus, not gonna lie. I swear I saw Zayn vent away somewhere.”</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>“Skrrt skrrt. He’s definitely the impostor. It was him going rogue for me. Should have voted him out.”</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>“Yeah. Just how fast the night changes. We certainly made some midnight memories.”</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>“You and me got a whole lot of history, glad nobody can drag us down.”</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>They went to their separate cabins and fell asleep instead of staying up all night.</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>WE REPEAT THAT THIS IS A JOKE PLEASE DO NOT TRY AT HOME WE GUARANTEE A 100% CHANCE OF FAILURE</p><p>If you want details just ask XDDDDD</p><p>Okay now we've reached 30k words whoop whoop time to go change the tags </p><p>P.S. stay tuned for more? possible crack? who knows &gt;:)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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